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Finding Aid to the Henry Gerber Collection, circa 1940-1998
Coll2013.034
Coll2013.034
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Table of contents
Title: Henry Gerber collection
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.034
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.2 linear feet.
1 archive carton
Date (inclusive): circa 1940-1998
Abstract: Often referred to as the forefather of the United States gay movement, Henry Gerber in 1924 created the first known gay organization
in the United States, the Society for Human Rights, and the first known gay publication,
Friendship and Freedom. The collection consists of Henry Gerber correspondence and writings as well as biographical information written about Henry
Gerber, circa 1940-1998.
creator:
Gerber, Henry, 1892-1972
Most of the correspondence and articles consist of photocopies from the ONE Incorporated Records and Manuel boyFrank Papers
as well as photocopies collected and donated by Anthony Segura at an unknown date.
Henry Gerber correspondence and writings as well as biographical information written about Henry Gerber, circa 1940-1998.
Correspondence consists of photocopies of letters with ONE Institute and periodical editors. Articles include Gerber's "In
Defense of Homosexuality," "The Society for Human Rights--1925," and "Can Homosexuals Be Cured." The collection includes two
copies of a black-and-white photographic print of Gerber.
Related Archival Materials note
ONE Incorporated Records, Coll2011.001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Manuel boyFrank Papers, Coll2013-028, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
[Box/folder #, or item name] Henry Gerber Collection, Coll2013-034, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Collection processed by Kyle Morgan, 2013.
Often referred to as the forefather of the United States gay movement, Henry Gerber was born in 1892 in Bavaria and moved
to the United States in 1913. Gerber joined the United States armed forces in 1917 and continued on as part of the German
occupation force through 1923. Becoming acquainted with the German group Bund fur Menshenrecht (Society for Human Rights),
he tried to create a similar group when he returned to Chicago. Gerber signed the charter for the Society for Human Rights
in 1924 and published two issues of
Friendship and Freedom before being shut down by local police. Although the case was dismissed, the defense cost him his life savings, his job as
a postal worker, and all materials related to the Society for Human Rights. Gerber reenlisted in the armed forces in 1927
and retired in New York City with an honorable discharge in 1945. From 1930-1939, Gerber published the periodical
Contacts as a conduit for pen-pal correspondence, but also discreetly to provide a means for gay men to make connections. He also
wrote articles for the 1934 publication
Chanticleer defending homosexuality. Through the 1950s, Gerber worked at a distance for the Mattachine Society in New York and
ONE Magazine. His life ended at the United States Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C., in 1972.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay activists--United States--History
Gay men's writings
Gays--Correspondence