| Contact + Contact Form 
 Search + Search Form 
 Introduction + Aims & Scope + Structure + History 
 Announcements + Updates + Calls for Papers + New Lectures + New Publications 
 Alphabetical Index + Author Index + Speaker Index 
 Chronological Index + Ancient History + Medieval History + Modern History 
 Geographical Index + African History + American History + Asian History + European History + Oceanian History 
 Topical Index + Prosecution + Cases + Types + Offenders + Victims + Society + Research + Representations 
 Resources + Institutions + Literature Search + Research | 
				
					Start: 
					Alphabetical Index: 
					Author Index: 
						A | 
						B | 
						C | 
						D | 
						E | 
						F | 
						G | 
						H | 
						I | 
						J | 
						K | 
						L | 
						M | 
						N | 
						O | 
						P | 
						Q | 
						R | 
						S | 
						T | 
						U | 
						V | 
						W | 
						X | 
						Y | 
						Z | 
						Unknown
				 
				First published: October 1, 2025 - Last updated: October 1, 2025
			TITLE INFORMATION 
			
			Author: Edward B(urton) Westermann
			
 Title: Crossing the Threshold of Sexual Violence
 
 Subtitle: Sexual Humiliation and the Practice of Performative Masculinity
 
 Journal: The Journal of Holocaust Research
 
 Volume: 38
 
 Issue: 3-4: Gender-Based and Sexual Violence during the Holocaust (Edited by Dorota Glowacka, Regina Mühlhäuser and Michal Aharony)
 
 Year: July-September 2024 (Published online: August 19, 2024)
 
 Pages: 336-351
 
 pISSN: 2578-5648 - 
				Find a Library: WorldCat | 
			eISSN: 2578-5656 - 
				Find a Library: WorldCat
 
 Language: English
 
 Keywords: 
				Modern History: 
					20th Century | 
				European History: 
					German History | 
				Types: 
					Sexual Assault / 
						Sexual Violence during the Holocaust
 
 FULL TEXT
 
			
			Link:
			Taylor & Francis Online (Restricted Access)
			 
 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
			
			Author:
				Edward Westermann, 
					Department of History, Philosophy and Geography , 
					Texas A&M University, San Antonio - 
					Google Scholar, 
					ResearchGate, 
					Wikipedia
			
 Abstract: 
				»This article examines acts of sexual humiliation by German perpetrators against women and men during the Holocaust. It argues that such acts of humiliation not only proved the easiest line to cross for the perpetrators, but often created a context in which additional acts of sexual violence became normalized. Sexual humiliation served as a critical first step in the dehumanization of the victims and included forced disrobement under the perpetrators’ gaze, often accompanied by crude and salacious comments concerning the bodies and features of those being abused. Furthermore, such acts were a ‘threshold activity’ and often moved beyond the salacious gaze and lewd comments of the perpetrators into acts of physical violation, whether through touching, beating of genitalia, body cavity searches, or rape. This article uses memoirs and testimonies to examine the various ways in which acts of sexual humiliation were an expression of ideas about militarized and performative masculinity among the perpetrators. It also focuses on the ways in which this abuse was perceived by the victims, both male and female as well as interrogating the interpretation of these acts by witnesses.« 
				(Source: The Journal of Holocaust Research)
 
 Wikipedia: 
				History of Europe: 
					History of Germany / 
						Nazi Germany | 
				Non-fiction: 
					Memoir | 
				Genocide: 
					The Holocaust / 
						Sexual violence during the Holocaust | 
				Sex and the law: 
					Sexual violence
 |