Auluka-Lounge / Geisha Bar

Auluka-Lounge / Geisha Bar

Lesbian Bar

Geisha was a prominent queer bar very popular to lesbians until the Nazi takeover in 1933. The space opened in 1922, first catering to elite straight men, then from 1922-1933 the space transformed into a flourishing lesbian oasis, making lesbians the main clientele. It had a "hot, weird, loud" atmosphere, full of young women in men's clothing (and mixed male and female clothing), with a "Japanese Cherry Blossom" theme, paper lanterns, red sofas lining the walls, and crude erotic cartoons drawn on the walls in green and black. The entertainment in the club: "Upbeat, contemporary dance music played on piano by eccentric former Russian prince. A female lead-dancer performs solo pieces." (Gordon 2006, 178)

Shay O'Connell and Jean Patton

Aydemir, Fatma, Marianne Breslauer, Max Czollek, Anita Daniel, Sharon Dodua Otoo, Jenny Erpenbeck, Ika Hügel-Marshall, et al. 2020. “Themes – Weitergeben.” Umich.edu. 2020. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/weitergeben/theme/.

Gordon, Mel. 2006. Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin. Expanded ed. Feral House.

Weimar era Berlin, Germany - Berlin West, near Nollendorfplatz and the Hotel Eden

1924-1933 (renamed to the Geisha Bar in 1929)

Augsburger Strasse 72

Lesbians, male voyeurs, Japanese and Chinese tourists and their hired German prostitutes/Nuttes (Gordon 2006, 278)