Translated by JUMIMA
Original German text
The following anonymous letter was sent to the Berliner Zeitung (see http://www.jungsforum.net). These are the most important parts of the letter:
Berliner Verlag
Berliner Zeitung
Leserbriefe
10171 Berlin
17. August 2008
- Subject:
- Aid for victims of pedophiles, Berliner Zeitung from 08/17/08
Dear Sirs and Madames,
You may not like to read the following letter.
At the age of 8-9 years (I’m now 52) I had a relationship with a man who I later learned was a pedophile. The relationship lasted until around the age of 14 and luckily remained undetected and free from police investigations. Even today, many years later, I am grateful to my older friend from that time. He made my gay coming out, which happened later and much more in life much easier for me. In the meantime I’ve gotten to know numerous people who have had positive and sexual relationships with adults in their childhood and youth and who are not ashamed of it. Understandably, such people never come to the various abuse advice centers, because they do not need such help. Therefore, such institutions get a completely one-sided picture of so-called abuse victims.
Sexual crime law even criminalizes perfectly consensual intimate relationships between people under the age of 14 who never cause harm. Therefore, this law is an unjust law. The so-called “abused girls” have all been raped because they have always rejected the sex that was forced on them in childhood. But there are completely different experiences in this area which are regularly embezzled by the sensational press.
Even in the case of the educator from the Awo [German private sector social service], it may well be that the boys have had sex with the accused in a confident, lustful and tender way. It’s a misfortune the justice system intervenes in such a case. The boys could have defended themselves considerably at the age of 11. That they haven’t (even for years) suggests that the sex was consensual. Power differences or power gaps are not synonymous with abuse of power. Apparently the former boyfriend also accepted the DVD with consensual intimacy. It is my opinion that persecuting people for their voluntary sexuality is simply inhumane. Journalists have to take this into account through all sensationalism. Also keep in mind that people are capable of lust and orgasm from birth.
Even today I am still active as part of the gay movement (at the BAG Queer der Linke) [LGBTQ group of a leftist German party] to make rethinking pedophilia happen.
Sincerely yours
Comment from the collection Positive Memories, compiled by T. Rivas.
The anonymous author of this letter was probably Kurt Hartmann, who is known for his activity in the field of sexual politics. The head of the German television program Quivive of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) received a letter from him in response to a broadcast in 2005 on therapy for “pedophiles”.
In his letter, Hartmann explains that the broacast was one-sided because it did not report positive experiences in “pedophile” relationships.
Among other things, Hartmann shared his own childhood experiences:
“At the age of 8-9 years, I met a man with whom a friendship and relationship developed and lasted for about 5 years. With this man, whom I later learned to be a pederast, I had my first sexual experiences. Even today - after over 40 years - I don’t want to miss these sexual experiences and the relationship. They were extremely important and helpful for my later gay coming out.”