(, ''The Circle'') was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

gay magazine that was published from 1932 to 1967 and distributed internationally.

History

was first published on January 1, 1932, under the original title (''Friendship Banner'') as a joint project of Laura Thoma of

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

organization Amicitia and August Bambula of the gay men's Excentric Club Zürich. The first issue was eight pages, credited editor "Fredy-Torrero" (Laura Thoma's alias) and proclaimed two related mottos: "Through light to freedom." and "Through struggle to victory". After a short pause it returned in 1933 under the changed title Schweizerisches Freundschaftsbanner. In 1937 its name changed again to (''Human Rights'') and finally to in 1942. The magazine originally focused on lesbian issues and was political in nature. Lesbianism was not criminalized in Switzerland at the time, unlike male homosexuality. From 1933 to 1942 it was published under the editorial leadership of

Anna Vock Anna Vock (13 January 1885 to 4 December 1962) was a journalist, organizer, and LGBT activist during the interwar period in Switzerland. Although lesbianism was not criminalized like male homosexuality in Switzerland during her activist period, ...

who initially published under her real name, and later under the pen name "Mammina". Vock and other writers came under attack from the tabloids and in an effort to stoke moral outrage about homosexuality, publishing Vock's home addresses and leading to a repeated loss of employment. By 1942 most of the lesbian editorial staff had left and the magazine became exclusively focussed on gay male interests; the actor

Karl Meier Karl Meier (16 March 1897, St. Gallen – 29 March 1974, Zurich) was a Swiss actor influential in the European LGBT social movement. He was a member of the socially active Cabaret Cornichon company, and editor for the gay magazine ''Der Kr ...

took over as the chief editor in 1942, using the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

"Rolf", and renamed the magazine (''The Circle''). In 1942 the magazine's bimonthly circulation was around 200 copies, and by 1957 this had increased to 1,900, including 700 subscribers throughout Europe and the United States. It was the only gay magazine that continued publication through

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and the only gay publication that was available in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. was published in multiple languages: it was originally written in German, but a French section was added in 1942 and an English section in 1954. It contained news, short stories, poems, photographs, illustrations, and reports on scientific research. Although Swiss publications were censored for much of the duration of magazine's publication, the editors of were noted to have evaded censorship of "racier texts" in the English section since the censors were unable to read them. By and large, the magazine contained very little risqué content since Meier wanted to promote "a high-minded vision of homosexuality" that valued friendship over sex. The magazine's leadership began to decline in the 1960s, since younger gay readers were more inclined to buy

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n publications that published pornography and nude photographs, and the last issue was published in 1967.

The editors of formed a society called , to which all readers were offered membership. The club held weekly meetings in Zürich, where readers gathered to meet other men, discuss current affairs, and listen to lectures hosted by the club; small meetings for French readers were also held in Paris. hosted an international ball in Zürich each year which attracted hundreds of gay men from around Europe. The club disbanded in 1967 when the magazine ceased publication.

Legacy

Hubert Kennedy Hubert Collings Kennedy (born 1931) is an American author and mathematician. Kennedy was born in Florida and studied mathematics at several universities. From 1961 he was professor of mathematics, with research interest in the history of mathemati ...

's book ''The Ideal Gay Man'', which chronicles the history of , Kennedy describes the magazine as having been "the world's most important journal promoting the legal and social rights of gay men" for much of its publication period and one of very few such journals in Europe at the time. Additionally, it remains the only gay publication to include editorial content in three languages. In 2014, the magazine's history was documented in a Swiss

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

film eponymously titled '' The Circle''. The film, which features a mix of historical footage from the 1950s and dramatisations of events, won the

Teddy Award The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay ...

and the Panorama Audience Award in the documentary category at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

References

External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreis 20th century in LGBT history 1932 establishments in Switzerland 1967 disestablishments in Switzerland Bi-monthly magazines published in Switzerland Defunct magazines published in Switzerland English-language magazines French-language magazines Gay men's magazines German-language magazines LGBT-related magazines Magazines established in 1932 Magazines disestablished in 1967 Magazines published in Zürich