FROM CAMPS TO CLOSETS: GEOGRAPGIES OF OPPRESSION A thesis submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By Samuel Henkin August, 2014 Thesis written by Samuel D. Henkin B.A., Miami Univeristy, 2011 M.A., Kent State University, 2014 Approved by ______________________________, Advisor James A. Tyner, Ph.D. ______________________________, Acting Chair, Department of Geography Scott Sheridan, Ph.D. ______________________________, Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences James Blank, Ph.D. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………v Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………………………vi Chapters I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………….……….1 Challenging Social Norms ……………………………………………………………….2 Geographies of Sexuality, Violence and Oppression …………………………6 A Call for ‘Liberation’ ……………………………………………………………………12 Intention of Research ………………………………………………………………...…14 II. (Queer) Positionality, Reflexivity and Bearing Witness …..……………………18 “We’re Here! We’re Queer!...Maybe? ………………………………………...……20 Positionality ……………………………………………………………………………...…21 (Self)(Queer) Reflexivity ………………………………………………………………28 Bearing Witness……………………………………………………………………………35 My Positionality …………………………………………………………………….……42 III. Discourse, Narratives and Memoirs ……………………………..………………….….44 Discourse ………………………….…………………………………………………………45 Narratives and Memoirs ………….……………………………………………………50 Summary …………………………………………..…………………………………………56 IV. Historical Context …………………..……………………………………………………….…58 The German Racial State …………………………………………………………….…60 The German Heteronormative State ………..…………………………………….73 Summary …………………………………………..…………………………………………84 V. Every Day Life and Death …………………………………………………………………...86 Geographies of oppression and the Holocaust ……………………………….87 The Concentration Camp …………………………………………………………..….90 Camp as a Microcosm of the Heteronormative ………………………………97 iii The Transformation of Life into Death: Pierre Seel ………………..……….99 Confronting Death: Heinz Heger ………………………………………..…….….106 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………..…….114 VI. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………..…..…116 Woks Cited ……………………………………………………………………………….………………..122 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Memorial to victims of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)…………………………………….....35 Figure 2. Entrance Gate to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)………………………………………...41 Figure 3. Remnants of Crematorium (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)…………………………………………41 Figure 4. Inside Barrack 39 (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)…………………………………………41 Figure 5. Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp “Roll Call” field (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)……………………………………….41 Figure 6. Entrance house at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)………………………………………115 Figure 7. Remains of “Execution Cite Z” and Crematorium (Photo by Samuel Henkin, 2009)………………………………………115 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the incredible mentorship of Dr. James A. Tyner I would not be the scholar I am today and this thesis would not exist. Your encouragement and invaluable feedback are more appreciated then could ever be expressed in words. I look forward to many more years of collaboration, long-winded discussions and the occasional venting session. I would also like to acknowledge the support from my committee members Dr. Scott Sheridan and Dr. Chris Post, whose guidance in and out of the classroom has been nothing short of incredible support. I also want to extend my gratitude to those faculty, staff and fellow students who make Kent State Geography so great. My acknowledgment page would not be complete without expressing my unwavering and unconditional love for my family who encourage me to chase my dreams and fulfill my life ambitions. Most importantly their support of my life choices ensures that the closet doesn’t envelop me once more. I fight for equality, hope and optimism for them. vi 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction “May they never be forgotten, these multitude of dead, our anonymous, immortal martyrs” (Heger, 1980, 118). The timing of the research conducted here is not by coincidence or chance but rather the result of a concerted effort in which to affirm my commitment to radical social revolution. The subsequent presentation of research will without a doubt be disruptive and subversive resisting a multiplicity of dominant forms of normativities. Embedded within the theories, conceptions, understandings and methods posited in this research is a manifesto of sorts that admittedly transcends all demands for social change; serving as a life-affirming message against the various forms of inequality, oppression, and violence faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans-Identified, and Queer (LGBTQ)1 individuals. In anticipating sentiments of selflessness in the purposes supporting this research, I must admit some selfishness. The timing of this research also happens to coincide with my eagerness and paradoxically my trepidation to understand my complex life experiences, of being a 1 LGBT or LGBTQ is a regularly used essentialized classification system that represents gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-identified (transgendered), and queer (Q also denotes questioning) individuals of various sexual orientations and gender identities. LGBTQ can have a normalizing effect that obscures the differences between gender, identity and sexuality. Although I use LGBTQ throughout this proposal I recognize its limitations and the fixity it maintains. 1 2 gay man. The very concepts, identities and relations I seek to deconstruct and understand are intrinsically embodied and simultaneously shape my life. The challenge to remain cognizant and open to share my lived experiences as a gay man throughout this research has been overwhelming, eye opening, and at times heart wrenching. By engaging my own ontological and epistemological complexities I am choosing to bear witness to my story and the stories of those individuals who have imparted knowledge in my life, like the men and women, whose memoirs serve as the foundation of this research and call for radical social revolution. Challenging Social Norms Around the world ‘LGBTQ Rights’ are proliferating under the rainbowed flag of equality, social justice and human rights empowering individuals and facilitating unrealized sexualities, sexualized desires, behaviors, relations and spaces that were only previously imagined. As this research was being conducted 2013 was being hailed the “the gayest year in gay history”, the “banner year” and landmark year” for LGBTQ rights worldwide. In the United States and elsewhere, marriage equality has become a discernable social force driven by transforming societal ‘norms’. Tens of thousands celebrated in the capitals of and across New Zealand, Uruguay, Brazil, England/Wales and France as same-sex marriage became federally legal and recognized. 17 U.S. states legalized same-sex marriage in 2013 with seemingly more to follow along this course. Millions of individuals displayed support for the U.S. 3 Supreme Court’s ruling that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional by using social media outlets, like Facebook, to post the red equality symbol representing marriage equality. Without a doubt these “landmark” decisions have afforded some with an opportunity to engage their sexuality on new levels and for many LGBTQ individuals these pronouncements have offered an aura of hope; a feeling of liberation. I cannot deny the immense gratification ascertained after being a part of and witnessing these historic moments in LGBTQ history: “It is the moments in which we help each other to see that we live for. What did I see? I saw something different, possibly another way of being. A life that resisted the external attitudes and behaviors mimicked in the world around me and embraced my intimate internalizations. And what did they see? The way I lived my life, a life I had not chosen, forcing them to recognize my suffering, a greater suffering shared by so many” 2(Henkin). Nevertheless, these celebrations of transforming social norms coincide with oppression, persecution and violence experienced by LGBTQ individuals worldwide. I do not wish to diminish the meaning of these celebrations surrounding the proliferation of marriage equality but we must envision a movement of social radical change where LGBTQ rights move beyond marriage. Marriage as a highly regulated and disciplined social institution cannot protect the LGBTQ spectrum3 against violence. As Spade states, “Even though norms are incorporated into various 2 Throughout this research document I am engaging my positionality as a gay man by including personal experiences, excerpts from my journal, and my own coming out letter. 3 I will be using the term “spectrum” instead of the commonly used term “community” because “community” is representative of a highly controlled social institution that is constructed in terms of inclusivity and exclusivity. 4 spaces and institutions inconsistently and applied arbitrarily, they still achieve the overall purpose of producing security for some populations and vulnerability for others” (2011, 24). Violence, persecution and oppression of LGBTQ individuals in space will continue regardless of their marital status. Thus, it is essential to engage in research that examines the legacies of oppression and violence to better understand the lived experiences of the LGBTQ spectrum so that stronger social movements can arise that protects all LGBTQ lives. Everyday