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MONOKEL
Invitation to the famed Berlin lesbian bar, months before the rise of the Nazi Party. Illustrated handbill, 105x150 mm; 4x5¾ inches, completed in manuscript with date and event; folds, otherwise minimal wear. [Berlin], 3 March 1932.
Monokel was opened in 1931, one of three lesbian clubs run by Lotte Hahm (1890-1967), known for wearing short hair and tuxedos, and her partner Käthe Fleischmann (1899-1967) as part of Berlin's flourishing gay scene. It was named after the monocle, which had become a fashion staple among the international lesbian community. In this invitation, Monokel is described as "Die Bar der Frau" (the bar for women), and offers dancing and a cabaret program with free admission. The illustration shows two elegantly dressed women dancing.
Less than a year after this invitation was issued, the Nazi Party rose to power and began a violent assault on Berlin's gay culture. Fleischmann, who was Jewish, spent two years doing hard labor in a work camp before escaping; she barely survived the war.
