Queerly Beloved: Romani Resistance Through the Ages
Six podcast episodes explore the history of the Roma and Sinti with a focus on activism, resistance, and the fight for equality and justice.
28 January 2025
This podcast was originally published on taz
Fists up in remembrance of forgotten minorities. Collage: taz
Journalists Melania Swiontek Brzezinski and Ann Toma-Toader take a closer look at the history of the Roma and Sinti in this German-language podcast. They focus in particular on the activism, resistance, and struggle for equality and justice that has continued since the 15th century to the present day.
With many exciting guests, they aim to offer a variety of perspectives, paying particular attention to queer identities in the community that have always been part of history but have been forgotten or suppressed. Expect questions such as: What measures has Germany taken since the Nazi era to enable the Porajmos to be processed? What do Cher and Nosferatu have in common with anti-Roma and anti-Sinti sentiment? And what does Ake Dikhea mean?
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Published on GayTimes Magazine
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Eastern Queerope Belarus: Stories of Resistance, Repression, and Cultural Renewal
Published on Eastern Queerope
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Homophobia at the Core of Putinism’s Ideology
Published on Spilne / Commons
Lacking a coherent moral framework, the Kremlin weaponizes anti-queer rhetoric. An analysis of historical roots, Nazi parallels, and how hate justifies the war.
Strange Embrace: Paradoxes of Homosexual Desire in the Third Reich
Published on Gasp Magazine
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Beauty as a Shelter: Ukrainian Women Rebuild Their Lives in Bucharest’s Salons
Published on Scena 9
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Angels from the East
Published on GPress.info
How trans* art, drag, and queer performance shaped Ukraine, Belarus & Moldova from the 1990s onward, revealing vibrant cultures defying post-Soviet repression.
Passing the Paintbrush: Historic Queer Jewish Artists in Berlin
Published on Friends of Dora
A documentary project highlighting the lives, histories, and legacies of queer Jewish artists in Berlin, with new podcast episodes released across major platforms.
Searching for Oneself at Random: How LGBTQI+ Communities Emerged in the Donetsk Region, 1991-2014
Published on Vilne Radio
From decriminalization to war and displacement, this article traces how queer people in Ukraine’s Donetsk region built communities and engaged in activism.
“I Have Nothing to Hide”
Published on taz
Lulla la Polaca shaped Warsaw’s queer scene. Her career as a drag queen started when she was in her seventies. A meeting in the Polish capital.
When We Stopped Hating Ourselves: Gay Life Under Persecution In Poland And Germany
Published on Tagesspiegel, Oko.press
Despite post-war persecution in Germany and surveillance in Poland, gay men answered state oppression with solidarity, secretly building the movements we know today.
How Queer Soldiers Shape Ukraine’s Defense And Future
Published on NV.ua
As Ukraine's queer soldiers risk their lives, they navigate a paradox: growing public acceptance alongside laws that still deny their partners basic rights in case of injury or death.
Unsafe in The Country of Origin
Published on taz
Fagatta, Adora, and Nia fled Georgia to escape violence and discrimination because of their gender identity. But because German authorities do not believe them, they are facing deportation.
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Published on Perspective Daily
Anti-queer disinformation has a long tradition. Here’s why it catches on and how we can counter it.
Queer Resistance in Ukraine: Between War and Disinformation
Published on Deine Korrespondentin
Russia weaponizes anti-LGBTIQ+ narratives to justify its invasion of Ukraine, depicting the country as morally corrupt. Yet Ukrainian activists fight back, slowly shifting public opinion despite war and disinformation.
No Safe Place
Published on Tagebuch
Many queer refugees are at an impasse: unsafe in their homelands, unacknowledged in exile. These two stories explore the realities between hope and political failure.
“A Place You Can Always Come To”: Shaping Polish Diasporic Queer Communities in Germany
Published on Milk
Polish LGBTQIAP+ migrants in Germany have built communities for decades through art, activism, and mutual support, creating spaces of belonging while confronting homophobia at home and abroad.
19th Century ‘Friendships’ to 90s Drag: Eastern Queerope Returns
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Asylum Discourse: What Are “Safe” Countries of Origin for Queers?
Published on Siegessäule
Germany calls Georgia and Hungary "safe" for LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum. But activists from both countries tell a different story – one of criminalized pride symbols and vanishing healthcare.
Queer Fronts
Published on Kontext Wochenzeitung
Alice Weidel resolves the paradox of being a chairwoman of the queer-hostile AfD by distinguishing between ‘homosexual’ and ‘queer’. Divisions are also opening up within the queer community.
Moving Stories: LGBTQIA+ Ukrainian Refugees
Published on Oko.press
Interviews with queer Ukrainians who fled the war document their experiences of displacement, coming to terms with identity, finding a community abroad.
Beyond the Binary
Published on Blog der Republik
From 19th century queer writing to contemporary activism, a look at how trans, genderqueer and lesbian people lived and organized in Central Europe across two centuries.
Queer Rights and Marriage Equality Under War, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
Published on Gender in Detail
How three former Sovietized states took different paths on marriage equality and LGBTIQ+ rights: a study of Ukraine, Belarus, and Estonia.
Gaps in Remembrance – Queer Biographies during National Socialism
Published on freie-radios.net
Queer survivors of Nazi persecution could not speak openly about their experiences for decades. This German audio piece is a search for clues.
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Published on Oko.press, Siegessäule
How do the past biographies connect with the experiences of trans people today?
New Stories from Eastern Queerope
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The Prisoners with the Pink Triangle
Published on Publik-Forum, Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Among the millions of people murdered by the Nazis were thousands of gay men. For a long time, there was no commemoration of them or other queer victims.
Intertwined Queer Stories: First LGBTIQ+ Museum in Eastern Europe
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The QueerMuzeum has opened in Warsaw. It tells of pride, joy and sex, but also of stigmatisation and persecution.
“The Smaller the Settlement, the Greater the Influence of Religion”: Belarusian Trans Non-Binary Activist in Poland
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Ray shares its journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance and struggle for queer rights
Queer Holocaust Voices – the Price of Silence
Published on Hukanne
For decades after 1945, queer Holocaust survivors couldn't tell their stories. Their testimonies are only now being discovered and analyzed.
Forgotten Stories of Eastern European Queer Heroes
Published on Instagram
Stories of people who were lacking remembrance and acknowledgment. Sometimes unintentionally, but more often purposefully.
“I Accept Myself with All My Features”: Ukrainian Queer Person and Her Identity in Catholic Poland
Published on Nash Vybir
Natalia presents a different, more down-to-earth perspective on queer Ukrainians in Poland.
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Published on Das.Hip
A documentary short about Palina, an actress, director, and singer from Minsk, Belarus.
Shelters, Help and Support: How Uzhhorod Became a New Home for Queer People
Published on Hromadske
When the full-scale war began, Uzhhorod became a critical hub offering displaced queer Ukrainians both emergency shelter and ongoing support services that continue transforming lives today.
Diversity in Brandenburg: Queers Take a Stand
Published on taz
A memorial for gay prisoners murdered in Sachsenhausen coincided with a Pride in nearby Oranienburg, uniting commemoration with celebration of present-day queer life.
Being Yourself. How Kharkiv’s LGBTQI Community Fights for Their Rights
Published on Hromadske
A report on queer representation in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on Prides and aid in times of war
Queer in One of Most Catholic Countries in Europe: Stimulus or Hindrance?
Published on Nash Vybir
Stereotypes suggest that Catholicism complicates the presence and activities of queer movements in Poland. Is this truly the case?
How Queer People Live in Frontline City: Report from Zaporizhzhia
Published on Hromadske
Zaporizhzhia's queer community navigates war while building resilience through mutual support and advocacy, just 50 kilometers from the frontlines.