Der Eigene

Der Eigene (roughly "The Own" or "The Self-Possessed") was a German periodical published in Berlin by Adolf Brand from 1896 until the early 1930s. It is widely credited as the world's first gay journal. The title nods to the anarchist philosopher Max Stirner, and the magazine began with an anarchist bent before turning to homosexual literature, poetry, essays, and art. Brand and his circle, known as the Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, promoted a vision of male same-sex love and culture. The magazine ran for roughly 36 years until the rise of Nazism forced it to close. In 2020, Humboldt University of Berlin made the full run available online, marking its importance to LGBTQ+ history.