Blue Movie 2 - The History of Porn - Berlin Burns, America Buys

Blue Movie 2 - The History of Porn - Berlin Burns, America Buys

From This Body Podcast by Love Street Media

February 23, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

This episode explores the history of pornography from the Weimar Republic to WWII, highlighting cultural shifts and key figures.

Berlin, 1924.Hyperinflation. Maimed soldiers. Cocaine cabarets. Early gender-affirming surgery. Queer films screening publicly. Magnus Hirschfeld arguing homosexuality is innate, not criminal. In this episode of Blue Movie , we trace how the sexual laboratory of the Weimar Republic burned bright and brief — and how its collapse under Adolf Hitler reshaped the future of pornography. During WW2, attitudes shifted again - From the liberal sexual attitudes of Berlin to Nazi book burnings and raidsFrom underground American stag films to the Hays Code.From wartime pin-ups to mail-order bondage empires.From Alberto Vargas to Bettie Page. JOIN PATREON (all proceeds donated to ACLU & efforts to help people fighting oppression in 2026) Get in touch: thisbodypodcast@gmail.com Follow Night Blooming Jasmine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sofiacaramella.substack.com/subscribe

Topics covered

  • history of pornography
  • Weimar Republic
  • queer cinema
  • Nazi Germany
  • sexual liberation
  • censorship
  • cultural shifts

Keywords

  • pornography
  • Weimar Republic
  • Magnus Hirschfeld
  • Nazi Germany
  • queer films
  • Hays Code
  • Bettie Page
  • sexual liberation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ACLU

Books & works: Blue Movie, Hays Code, Alberto Vargas

Places: Berlin, America

More episodes of This Body Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the This Body Podcast podcast page.