"Der Eigene" Magazine (Germany, 1896-1933)

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"Der Eigene" (English: The Own) was the first magazine in the world catered to gay men, founded in 1896 by Adolf Brand. The name of the magazine comes from Max Stirner's 1844 anarchist text "Der Einzige und sein Eigentum", which literally translates to "the individual and his property"; a revolutionary piece which argues that every person should have complete autonomy over all aspects of their lives. Inspired by this classic anarchist work, Brand decided to call his magazine "Der Eigene" to symbolize autonomy over one's own life and body, including sex and sexuality, which was the main focus of the magazine.
The magazine came from German creators, mainly Adolf Brand, and featured poems, articles, prose, art, drawings, and nude photographs, as well as contributions and collaborations from other German poets and artists. In the 1920s, the magazine's content shifted from primarily gay prose, culture, and art, to have a more political lens. This was the beginning of the "Weimar Culture" in Germany, which emphasized an emergence of arts and sciences; this urged the magazine to evolve due to the changing population which they served. Around this time, "Der Eigene" mixed cultural and artistic material with political prose and opinion pieces, even openly supporting Social Democracy, even though Germany at this time was a Federal Republic.
"Der Eigene"'s publisher was constantly battling with German censorship laws; in 1903 a poem titled "Die Freudschaft" (English: The Friendship) provoked a lawsuit against the magazine, which "Der Eigene" won due to the fact that the poem was written by a popular poet and lyricist, Friedrich Schiller, who had also previously written for Ludwig Van Beethoven. The magazine had been sued several times for outing certain people, as well.
Sadly, in 1933 when Hitler rose to power in Germany, Adolf Brand's house was searched and all material related to the magazine were seized and handed over to Nazi officers, after which Brand was no longer able to continue compiling and printing the magazine.

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