Frame and Preparation
“Charlotte and Toni”
Conceptual Frames and Background
- Transgender
- Female same-sex desire
- Nazism
- Holocaust
- Migration and exile
Introduction
Rather than a text by these women, this is the reconstructed story of two transgender women in the early 20th century.
The text for this activity, in German, can be viewed here.
Preparation
- Although students are probably familiar with this history, it may be necessary to review the Holocaust, specifically its effects on Jews, homosexuals, and transgender individuals.
- Likewise, Nazi policies towards gender non-normative and transgender individuals may be in order to contextualize this biography.
- Since this is not a work of fiction but rather of activist biography, prepare students on the form of the genre and what to expect.
Text and Discussion
- How do Charlotte and Toni “figure out” that they are women? How do they construct their identities as women?
- What is the relation of transgender women to the police and the legal apparatus of Germany? How does this change over the course of the 20th century?
- What sort of world do they create for themselves? How do they support themselves, both financially and spiritually?
- What can their story tell us about 20th-century German history, both theoretically and as a lived experience?
- The website on which this story is hosted is called “Lesbengeschichte.” Can we call these women “lesbians”? How do you think they understood themselves?
- We notice that many details are missing or unknown about these women’s lives. What does this tell us about the state of queer and transgender history? And of women’s history?