Scientific-Humanitarian Committee founded in Berlin

Background. Magnus Hirschfeld, a German physician and sexologist, established the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in Berlin-Charlottenburg in May 1897. The organization aimed to campaign for the legal rights and social recognition of LGBT people, countering institutionalized discrimination. Hirschfeld's advocacy was influenced by the 1895 Oscar Wilde trial and the suicide of a patient in 1896, which deepened his commitment to homosexual rights.

Founding Members. The committee was founded by Magnus Hirschfeld alongside publisher Max Spohr, lawyer Eduard Oberg, and writer Franz Joseph von Bülow. The organization included representatives from various professions and operated under the motto 'Per scientiam ad justitiam' (Through science to justice). It was the first LGBT rights organization in history, seeking to overturn Paragraph 175 through petitions.

Early Activities. Work on promoting a petition to overturn Paragraph 175 began in 1897, targeting prominent figures in politics, medicine, art, and science. The committee gathered 6,000 signatures from prominent Germans. Although petitions were submitted in 1898, 1922, and 1925, they failed to gain parliamentary support, with the 1898 bill supported only by a minority of the Social Democratic Party.