For thirty-five years, the LSVD+ – Queer Diversity Association has been representing the interests of LGBTQ+ people in Germany. Its managing director Klaus Jetz joins The Zeitgeist to discuss how LGBTQ+ rights have changed in Germany since unification, the challenges the community faces now, and how the LSVD+ has advocated for greater civil rights in Germany. With guest host Eric Langenbacher, he also discusses how the LSVD+ works with other organizations to advance LGBTQ+ rights globally.



Guest Host

Eric Langenbacher, AGI Senior Fellow; Director, Society, Culture & Politics Program

Guests

Klaus Jetz, Executive Director, LSVD+ – Queer Diversity Association



Transcript

Eric Langenbacher

Welcome, everybody, to this edition of The Zeitgeist podcast here at the American-German Institute. I’m Eric Langenbacher, a senior fellow and the director of the Society, Culture & Politics Program here at AGI. Today, we’re going to be speaking with Klaus Jetz, who is the Geschaftsführer, or the executive director, of the LSVD+ organization, the Federation Queer Diversity, based in Cologne, Germany. And we had the opportunity to meet with Klaus when we were on our study tour for our LGBTQ+ exchange program, this was back earlier this year in April 2024. Klaus, it’s really nice to—kind of—see you again and welcome.

Klaus Jetz

Thank you very much for the invitation.

Eric Langenbacher

So Klaus, I thought maybe we could begin with you providing a few more details about yourself, your journey, and how you got to this position today.

Klaus Jetz

It was just by, I would say, an accident, because I was looking for a job when I finished my studies back in the 90s. I studied Spanish and French literature, Latin American literature, and history. And, when I finished in 1992, I think it was, I was looking for a job, and a friend of mine said the gay association in Germany is looking for a press officer. And so I ran for this job and I was selected. And since that time in the 90s I have been working as a press officer for the LSVD in those times—LSVD+ nowadays—and for our Hirschfeld Eddy Foundation, which is our human rights foundation. But I never stopped working as well on Latin American issues, Spanish issues, or literature as a translator of Spanish novels, Latin American novels from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Cuban novels, et cetera. And to write about Latin American issues, history, politics, and culture, mainly literature.

Eric Langenbacher

Fascinating. So maybe first you could give us more details about the LSVD+ Federation itself. What is your main mission? What is the structure of your organization, and what are the main activities?

Klaus Jetz

Our mission is equality in front of the law or before the law: equal rights for LGBTI+ people. We’ve been fighting for equal rights for same-sex couples for a long time until we were granted marriage-for-all rights in 2017. We are a non-discrimination organization working on anti-discrimination policies and activities based on LGBTIQ+. And we are a kind of watchdog as well. As soon as in society, in the media, or wherever in politics there is discriminatory wording against LGBTI+ people, we raise our voice and we are heard by media. But we are invited as well by legislators, by the German Parliament, or ministries as soon as they do have project law in the pipeline to give our views on this project. So we are the national LGBTIQ+ organization; we speak for trans and intersex people as well. Of course, there are other organizations, and we closely cooperate with these organizations.

Eric Langenbacher

Great. And what about your personnel? How big of an organization,