Eros in Prison was the first book to deal in depth with the issue of sexual misery in prison. It attracted the attention of the leading pioneer of sexual science, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, and caused a sensation on publication. It also inspired the 1928 film directed by William Dieterle, Sex in Chains. Karl Plättner’s book provides a fascinating and surprising insight into the sexual mores of the Weimar Republic.
Karl Plättner (1893–1945), communist guerrilla and bandit, was imprisoned for his involvement in the Central German insurrection of 1921.
The introduction by Ed Walker traces Plättner’s political development, his struggles in prison and his persecution by the Nazis. Having survived several concentration camps and six years of hard labour, Plättner died shortly after liberation in June 1945.
