Forum Queeres Archiv München e. V.– LGBTIQ* in History and Culture

Forum Queeres Archiv München e. V., commonly rendered in English as Forum Queer Archive Munich, is a German association and archive dedicated to preserving, researching, and publicly communicating the history and culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer communities. Its principal geographical focus is Munich and Bavaria, while its holdings and research also relate to the wider history of LGBTQ+ life in Germany. The organization opened in 1999 and was formerly known as forum homosexualität münchen – Lesben und Schwule in Geschichte und Kultur e.V.; the name was changed to Forum Queeres Archiv München in 2019. The archive's work responds to the vulnerability of queer historical records, many of which were created privately or circulated within community networks rather than collected by conventional institutions. Its holdings include personal papers, diaries, photo albums, self-compiled press-cutting collections, correspondence, posters, audiovisual materials, periodicals, and other documents generated by LGBTQ+ people and movements. The organization describes these materials as culturally significant records that merit active preservation and public access. In this respect, the Forum belongs to a broader German network of queer archives, alongside comparable initiatives in cities such as Berlin and Cologne. The collection includes a research library of approximately 3,600 volumes covering social science, history, AIDS, queer studies, biography, coming-out literature, fiction, and poetry. It also holds rare and out-of-print publications associated with early lesbian, women's, and gay movements, together with numerous publications dating from the era of Magnus Hirschfeld. Its periodical collection comprises roughly 220 magazines and more than 10,000 individual issues dating from the 1920s to the present. The audiovisual holdings include about 1,100 videotapes, DVDs, and CDs, while the poster collection contains approximately 850 items. These figures describe the collection as presented in reference material and may change as cataloguing and acquisition continue. The Forum is both a repository and a production organization. Researchers have used its holdings to investigate subjects including the experiences of homosexual people after the Holocaust. In 2019, members established a research group devoted to German painter Paul Hoecker, whose life and work became the subject of archival investigation and partial digitization of material from his family estate. The Forum's research is disseminated through publications, exhibitions, talks, city tours, readings, lectures, and public conversations with older queer people. Its publication program includes the Splitter series, which addresses historical and social-historical topics and biographies, the Lebensgeschichte series of autobiographical accounts and oral-history interviews, and artist's books based on archival materials. The organization also works through institutional partnerships. Since 2019, it has cooperated with the Munich Stadtmuseum and the Munich City Archive on an appeal for objects and documents relating to the city's LGBTQ+ past and present. Other activities have included lectures on the 1920 attack on Magnus Hirschfeld in Munich, organized with the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism, and programming concerning the life and work of Munich-based artist Lorenza Böttner in cooperation with the artist-run space Lothringer13_Florida. The Forum's role is therefore broader than that of a specialist library: it functions as a community archive, historical research partner, publisher, educator, and cultural organizer.

Forum Queeres Archiv München was established in Munich and opened in 1999 as an association concerned with lesbian, gay, and broader LGBTQ+ history and culture. Its creation reflected the need for community-based collecting in Germany, where many records of queer life existed in private papers, activist archives, ephemeral publications, photographs, and oral testimony rather than in mainstream cultural institutions. The Munich initiative developed in the context of similar queer archival organizations elsewhere in Germany, including Berlin and Cologne. The association's central historical mission is to preserve the past of LGBTQ+ communities in and around Munich and make that past available to the public. It collects personal documents, diaries, photo albums, self-produced newspaper collections, periodicals, posters, audiovisual recordings, and other materials that illuminate everyday life, political organizing, cultural production, persecution, and social change. Its library contains approximately 3,600 books and covers queer studies, sociology, history, AIDS, biography, coming-out writing, fiction, and poetry. The organization also preserves rare and out-of-print works connected to early women's, lesbian, and gay movements, as well as publications associated with Magnus Hirschfeld's era. Its periodical holdings encompass roughly 220 magazine titles and more than 10,000 issues from the 1920s onward, supplemented by around 1,100 audiovisual items and approximately 850 posters. The archive has supported research into topics such as the post-Holocaust experiences of homosexual people. In October 2019, members created a research group focused on Paul Hoecker, a German painter. The group investigated his life and work and digitized a portion of material from his family estate that had entered the Forum's collections. This project illustrates the institution's approach to queer history: it connects the recovery of individual biographies with the preservation of primary sources and the production of new scholarship. A significant institutional development came in 2019, when the association changed its name from forum homosexualität münchen – Lesben und Schwule in Geschichte und Kultur e.V. to Forum Queeres Archiv München. The newer name more directly identifies the organization as an archive and reflects a broader understanding of the communities and identities represented in its work. The Forum's activities extend beyond collection management. It publishes historical studies, biographies, autobiographical accounts, contemporary-witness interviews, and artist's books. The Splitter series addresses historical and socio-historical subjects, while Lebensgeschichte presents personal histories and oral testimony from LGBTQ+ people. The organization also stages historical and art exhibitions, organizes city tours, lectures, readings, and Erzählcafés, or public conversation events with older queer people. These programs make archival research accessible to audiences beyond academic researchers. Since 2019, the Forum has cooperated with the Munich Stadtmuseum and Munich City Archive on a public appeal for documents and objects relating to LGBTQ+ history in Munich. It has also collaborated with the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism on lectures concerning the 1920 attack on Magnus Hirschfeld in Munich, and with Lothringer13_Florida on programming about Munich-based artist Lorenza Böttner. Reference material additionally records a 2026 presentation at Berlin's BQ Gallery of Imitationen von Paul, a solo exhibition by Philipp Gufler connected with the Forum's Paul Hoecker research. Through these archival, scholarly, publishing, and educational activities, the Forum operates as both a preservation institution and a public platform for queer cultural memory.

• 2026

  Paul Hoecker-related exhibition presented in Berlin

  [1]Forum Queeres Archiv Münchenen.wikipedia.org

  BQ Gallery in Berlin presents Imitationen von Paul, a solo exhibition by Philipp Gufler associated with the Forum's research on Paul Hoecker.

• 2019

  Association adopts its current name

  [1]Forum Queeres Archiv Münchenen.wikipedia.org

  The organization changes its former name, forum homosexualität münchen – Lesben und Schwule in Geschichte und Kultur e.V., to Forum Queeres Archiv München.

• 2019

  Munich LGBTQ+ history collection appeal begins

  [1]Forum Queeres Archiv Münchenen.wikipedia.org

  The Forum collaborates with the Munich Stadtmuseum and Munich City Archive to solicit historical and contemporary objects and documents from the public.

• 2019

  Paul Hoecker research group is formed

  [1]Forum Queeres Archiv Münchenen.wikipedia.org

  Forum members begin a dedicated investigation of painter Paul Hoecker and digitize part of his family estate held in the archive.

• 1999

  Archive opens in Munich

  [1]Forum Queeres Archiv Münchenen.wikipedia.org

  Forum Queeres Archiv München opens as an association dedicated to collecting, preserving, researching, and communicating LGBTQ+ history and culture, particularly in Munich and Bavaria.

A community-rooted queer archive and cultural-history institution that combines preservation, research, publishing, education, and public programming, with a particular focus on Munich and Bavaria.

• Cultural archive · 1999

  Archive and research collection

  The Forum preserves private papers, diaries, photographs, press-cutting collections, periodicals, posters, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting LGBTQ+ life. The collection is focused on Munich and Bavaria but also supports research into wider German queer history. Its holdings are intended for public access and scholarly use.

• Historical publication series

  Splitter

  Splitter is the Forum's publication series for historical and socio-historical research, including studies of queer movements, local history, archival materials, and biographies of historical figures. Reference material identifies several issues and related publications produced with publishing partners.

• Oral history and biography series

  Lebensgeschichte

  Lebensgeschichte presents autobiographical texts and contemporary-witness interviews with LGBTQ+ people. The series extends the archive's work from institutional records to lived experience, preserving personal testimony as a source for social and cultural history.

• Archival collection

  Poster collection

  The Forum holds approximately 850 posters documenting queer cultural events, activism, public communication, and community life. The collection has also served as the basis for publications and artistic research, including Philipp Gufler's I WANNA GIVE YOU DEVOTION.

• Cultural and educational services

  Public history program

  The Forum organizes city tours, readings, lectures, historical exhibitions, art exhibitions, and Erzählcafés featuring public conversations with older queer people. These activities translate archival research into accessible cultural and educational programming.

• 2019Munich LGBTQ+ history collection appeal

  Munich · Germany

  The Forum joined Munich's Stadtmuseum and City Archive in asking the public to contribute objects and documents relating to LGBTQ+ history, including both historical records and materials from contemporary community life.

  Outcome. The appeal strengthened cooperation among the three institutions and expanded public participation in preserving Munich's queer history.

  Source

• 2019

  Adoption of the Forum Queeres Archiv München identityStrategy

  Background

  The association had previously used a name centered on homosexuality, lesbians, and gay men in history and culture.

  Action taken

  It adopted the name Forum Queeres Archiv München, emphasizing its archival function and a broader LGBTQ+ scope.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued its collecting, research, publishing, and public-programming activities under the current identity.

  Source

1. 1Forum Queeres Archiv Münchenen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Forum Queeres Archiv München official websiteforummuenchen.org