We celebrate Pride every year because we remember a historical event – the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York, which became a crystallization point for the queer movement. Researching our history is therefore an important contribution to the self-understanding of often very different queer communities. The three-volume Handbuch Queere Zeitgeschichten, presented at QWien this Pride season, makes a significant contribution to that work.

Spanning the period from 1945 to the recent present, the editors present queer history from a range of perspectives. The first volume focuses on the history of queer “spaces” and different spatial practices. The volume on “Differences” examines exclusions and conflicts in queer contemporary history, while the final volume, “Movements,” traces the diversity of our communities across the entire German-speaking world.

This editorial achievement – to which more than fifty authors have contributed – will be presented by editors Benno Gammerl, Martin Lücke, and Andrea Rottmann.

Welcome remarks

• Andreas Brunner for QWien
• “Writing Queer History in Times of New Threats”: Welcome by the editors (Martin Lücke, Benno Gammerl)

Contextualizations

• Sabine Grenz (Gender Studies, University of Vienna)
• Katharina Stornig (Women’s and Gender History, University of Vienna)

Short talks on the following topics

• Christopher Treiblmayr on the Austrian League for Human Rights
• Elisa Heinrich / Andreas Brunner on the history of queer movements in Austria

Bibliographic details

Benno Gammerl / Martin Lücke / Andrea Rottmann (eds.): Handbuch Queere Zeitgeschichten. Vol. I: Räume, Bielefeld: transcript 2023; Vol. II: Differenzen, Bielefeld: transcript 2025; Vol. III: Bewegungen, Bielefeld: transcript 2026