The individual members' different backgrounds in history, political science, theatre and dance studies, queer archives, and the performing arts all inform the work of the group. Together, they form a transdisciplinary team to enable new perspectives on queer processes of democratization and the history of movements.

You can contact the project via queerdem[at]geschkult.fu-berlin.de.

Queer Subjectivity, Movements and Activism in 20th Century Germany (Berlin)

Andrea Rottmann is project lead and coordinator. She is a scholar of queer history, with particular interests in the gaps and imbalances in its archives and historiographies. Andrea enjoys working collaboratively. She has connected researchers from seven different countries in the Network Queer Contemporary Histories of German-Speaking Europe, who together have made queer historical knowledge available for free in a three-volume (German-language) handbook. You can also read her prize-winning book about queer everyday lives in East and West Berlin between the end of WW2 and the beginnings of gay and lesbian liberation for free, Queer Lives Across the Wall. Desire and Danger in Divided Berlin, 1945-1970. More info here.

Kai* Brust completed their bachelor's degree in History and Political Science at TU Darmstadt in 2019 and their master's degree in Interdisciplinary Research on Antisemitism at the Center for Research on Antisemitism at TU Berlin in the end of 2022. They subsequently worked as a freelance historian in numerous educational and exhibition projects on trans and queer contemporary history. Kai* is interested in how and from when on trans and inter people in the Federal Republic of Germany perceived themselves as political subjects and in what ways they enshrined self-determination as a fundamental democratic value. Since May 2025, Kai* has been pursuing their phd in this project, conducting research on the history of trans and inter subjectivization, activism, and movements in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Greta Marlene Hülsmann studies European History at Humbold University of Berlin. They are especially interested in queer history of the last century, theoretical approaches to historical writing, and how to approach past people and their lives with empathy. She has a bachelors in history and literary studies from Free University in Berlin. Next to their studies, she is active in the political education of young people. She is part of this project as a student assistant and is working on a podcast on LGBTIQ* movements and democratisation.

Archiving LGBTIQ* Movements: Memory, Access, Mediation (Berlin)

Hannes Hacke is a cultural anthropologist and curator working at the intersection of collections, curatorial practice, and civic engagement. He is a co-founder of QueerSearch, the umbrella network of German speaking queer archives, libraries, and collections. His work focuses on researching, collecting, and communicating queer history and culture, particularly within museums and archives. He develops participatory exhibition and collection projects, fosters exchange between queer communities, academia, and cultural institutions, and works to queer historical narratives in the field of history and in cultural institutions. More info here

Subproject Giessen

Christine (Chriz) Klapeer is a professor in political science and gender studies and a board member of the Centre for Diversity, Media, and Law (DiML) at the Justus-Liebig University of Giessen. Their research focuses on queer-feminist state theories, (transnational) LGBTIQ+ movements, and the complex relationship between democratic participation/citizenship and anti-LGBTIQ+ violence/ discrimination. In their current research Chriz examines the authoritarisation of gender politics, anti-gender mobilisations, and the democratic and political significance of the increasing number of attacks on LGBTIQ+ rights, LGBTIQ+ symbols, and forms of assembly, such as Pride parades.

Tarek Shukrallah (they/them) is a political and social scientist (M.A.) and currently works as a research associate at Justus Liebig University Giessen. Shukrallah’s work focuses on critically examining intersectional social inequalities and resistant practices in both historical and contemporary contexts. Their doctoral research explores queer politics in Tunisia following the 2010/11 revolution. In addition, Shukrallah conducts research on LGBTQIA+ movement histories in Germany. In this context, they collaborate with the Schwules Museum Berlin and the project “ver/sammeln antirassistischer Kämpfe” (“assembling antiracist struggles”) to investigate the histories of movements led by queer Black people and People of Color in Germany. Shukrallah’s research is situated in political science-based gender and queer studies, decolonial global and area studies with a regional focus on the MENA region, as well as intersectional social and democracy research.

Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Queer Theatre Workshops (Vienna)

Eike Wittrock is professor of dance studies at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. In his research and pedagogical practice, he explores (queer) aesthetics in historical sources of European dance history, and archives and investigates the performative aspects of queer activism from the 1970s and 1980s. He regularly collaborates with artists and students to examine historical material, aiming to counter the lack of imagination and limitations of the present. His recent publications include Theater* in queerem Alltag und Aktivismus der 1970er und 1980er Jahre (Neofelis Verlag, co-authored with Jenny Schrödl). More info here.

Gin Müller is a dramaturge* and artistic director* of the association for freedom of movement in Vienna. He works trans_disciplinarily in theater/performance, activist and scientific projects and is particularly interested in the connections and potential of theater, social movements and queer politics in his artistic research and work. Recent artistic works: Performance series "Justitia! Performative Formats on Law and Justice”, “Sodom Vienna“ (at brut Wien, and the exhibition ”4T - The Trans Body Rights Ar/ctivist Archive" at the Queer Museum Vienna. He also teaches at the Institute for Theater, Film and Media Studies and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. More info here.

Melina Vesely studied fine arts at the Bauhaus University Weimar and is currently studying at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, in the Studio for Art and Intervention, Post-Conceptual Art Practices (PCAP, IBK). Her artistic work is closely linked to research, which is reflected in various collective projects, poems, print publications, textile and audio works. She is interested in resistant (everyday) practices and the potential of communal living. Melina Vesely is also co-editor of a book in the publication series of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna: 'vol. 29 SEXUAL DISSIDENCES. Frau Diamanda's Catalan Scenes, Travesti Politics of Resistance, and Anti-Canonical Knowledge'.