Magnus Hirschfeld

Magnus Hirschfeld

A day in the life of a Berlin sexologist

A condensed history of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a pioneer of gay and trans rights advocacy and research in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Not many know the history of Magnus Hirschfeld. The beloved physician and sexologist primarily practised in Weimar Germany, but his work paved the way for decades of LGBTQ+ rights advocacy around the world. Our visual novel condenses and fictionalizes real events in Hirschfeld’s life to cover his key influences, his ties to the gay community in Berlin, and his forward-thinking approach to caring for gay and trans patients.

Play a short interactive story spanning 24 hours in Hirschfeld’s fascinating life, from his Institute of Sexual Research to the gay nightlife in Berlin.

CW: Suicide, death, transphobic language.

Created for Historical Game Jam 5 by:

• Jonathan Slamovits, 2D Art (Interiors) and Art Direction
• Robin Rösing, 2D Art (Sprites) and Character Design
• Lena Risse, Development
• Tanya Decarie, Writing

Sources

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/ 

[2] https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctt1wf4dmd.6.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A6b78a977d8907d2c9f3bcf9b76695e35 

[3] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/26/berlin-story 

[4] https://www.advocate.com/books/2016/7/19/peek-inside-berlins-queer-club-scene-hitler-destroyed-it 

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/books/review/gay-berlin-by-robert-beachy.html 

[6] https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/01.JU.0000555394.71572.8e 

[7] http://adventuresintimeandgender.org/stories/domestic-space-history/ 

[8] https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/magnus-hirschfeld/ 

[9] https://www.queerportraits.com/bio/hirschfeld