page_title: Der Kreis
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Der Kreis / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Titelblatt Erstausgabe Freundschaftsbanner
context_page_description: Der Kreis was a Swiss gay magazine that was published from 1932 to 1967 and distributed internationally.
context_section_description: Der Kreis was first published on January 1, 1932, under the original title Freundschaftsbanner (Friendship Banner) as a joint project of Laura Thoma of Zürich lesbian 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 Menschenrecht (Human Rights)  and finally to Der Kreis 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 who initially published under her real name, and later under the pen name "Mammina". Vock and other writers came under attack from the tabloids Sheinwerfer and Guggu 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 took over as the chief editor in 1942, using the pen name "Rolf", and renamed the magazine Der Kreis (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 the Third Reich and the only gay publication that was available in Europe during World War II. Der Kreis 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 Der Kreis 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 Scandinavian publications that published pornography and nude photographs, and the last issue was published in 1967.
caption: 1st issue of Freundschaftsbanner from January, 1st, 1932
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