Fachverband Homosexualität und Geschichte

The Fachverband Homosexualität und Geschichte e.V. (FHG) is a German-language professional society and umbrella organization dedicated to the research and documentation of the history of same-sex love, eroticism and sexuality. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Cologne, it brings together individuals and independent initiatives — archives, museums, historical associations and research projects — that work on reconstructing homosexualities across different epochs. Its membership is drawn mainly from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The FHG describes itself as the umbrella association for initiatives, individuals and projects devoted to researching and documenting the history of gender identities and sexual orientations. Its stated goals include promoting professional work in historical research among its members, fostering exchange through regular conferences, advising on questions of financing and organization, and supporting new initiatives at their founding. It also serves as a networking and communication platform for the often small, volunteer-run queer history projects in the German-speaking world. Since 1999 the FHG has published its own academic yearbook, Invertito – Jahrbuch für die Geschichte der Homosexualitäten, with the Männerschwarm Verlag. The association also organizes an annual conference (Jahrestagung) and supports research projects, readings and publications. Its website, fhg-invertito.de, functions as a news and information hub for the field, announcing events such as the 2026 annual conference on "Queere Körper" (Queer Bodies), a reading on the anarchist and artist John Olday, and the publication of a study on state repression under § 175 StGB. The FHG is a registered voluntary association (eingetragener Verein) and is not a commercial company; it operates as a non-profit scholarly society. Its work is closely tied to the broader lesbian and gay movement that emerged in the 1970s and to the growth of independent, non-university historical research on homosexuality in Germany and other European countries.

The Fachverband Homosexualität und Geschichte (FHG) emerged from the lesbian and gay movement of the 1970s, which generated a demand for an independent historiography of same-sex love and sexuality. In Germany and other European countries, numerous non-university archive projects, museums and historical associations were founded alongside a few university research projects, reconstructing homosexualities across different epochs. To connect these often isolated initiatives and to stimulate cross-regional exchange of knowledge and experience, the FHG was founded in 1992. Its seat is in Cologne. From the outset, the association functioned as an umbrella organization for initiatives, individuals and projects dedicated to researching and documenting the history of gender identities and sexual orientations. It aimed to promote professional work in historical research among its members, to facilitate exchange through regular conferences, to advise on financing and organizational questions, and to support new initiatives at their founding. Membership came mainly from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A major step in the association's publishing activity came in 1999, when the FHG began issuing its own academic yearbook, Invertito – Jahrbuch für die Geschichte der Homosexualitäten, in cooperation with the Männerschwarm Verlag. The yearbook has since become a recognized venue for scholarly articles on the history of homosexuality. Over the decades, the FHG has organized annual conferences (Jahrestagung) on changing themes, supported research projects, and provided a platform for readings and publications. Its website, fhg-invertito.de, documents current activities, including the 2026 annual conference on "Queere Körper" (Queer Bodies), a reading on the anarchist and artist John Olday, and the publication of a study on state repression under § 175 StGB within the research project "Lebenswelten, Repression und Verfolgung von LSBTTIQ* in Baden". The FHG remains a central networking and advocacy body for queer history in the German-speaking world.

• 2026

  Annual conference on "Queere Körper" (Queer Bodies) and conference "Making Queer Church History Visible" at Evangelische Akademie Bad Boll.

• 1999

  First publication of the yearbook Invertito – Jahrbuch für die Geschichte der Homosexualitäten with Männerschwarm Verlag.

• 1992

  FHG founded in Cologne as an umbrella organization for queer history initiatives.

Non-profit scholarly society and umbrella organization for queer history research in the German-speaking world.

• Invertito – Jahrbuch für die Geschichte der Homosexualitäten

1. 1Start - Invertitofhg-invertito.de
2. 2Queere Kirchengeschichte sichtbar machen - Invertitofhg-invertito.de
3. 3Fachverband Homosexualität und Geschichtede.wikipedia.org
4. 4Fachverband Homosexualität und Geschichtewikidata.org