Hubris and Hypocrisy, Incitement and Disavowal: Sexuality and German Fascism

The history of sexuality in Germany under Nazism does not fit into any easily explainable framework. Many scholars have taken the Nazis at their word that they were returning marriage and family to their proper dignity. This standard assumption, that the Nazis repressed expressions of sexuality, neglects the fact that the Nazis also used sexuality in many forms to consolidate their appeal. While some Nazis were indeed conservative, others worked to detach impulses from their association with Marxism and Jewishness while redefining sexual liberation as Germanic.