Analysing the Persecution of Men Interned on Charges Relating to Homosexuality in Nazi Concentration Camps Through Prisoner Records in the Arolsen Archives

This article examines how prisoner records from the Arolsen Archives can be systematically analysed to enhance our understanding of the persecution of men interned on charges relating to homosexuality in Nazi concentration camps. Drawing on a dataset of 930 fully referenced individual records, it demonstrates what becomes possible when the information contained within these records, including biographical data, arrest details, camp assignments, dates, and documented treatment, is coded and subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The article sets out the analytical threads that emerge from this approach, presenting preliminary findings for each: mortality patterns, movement through the camp system, demographic influences on experience and outcome, cross-referencing of variables, and reading beyond the official record. Its purpose is methodological: to show that systematic analysis of this kind reveals patterns invisible in single-case or single-camp research, and to offer a transparent, verifiable foundation for future scholarship.