Scientific-Humanitarian Committee

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The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (German: Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee, WhK) was founded by Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin in May 1897, to campaign for social recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and against their legal persecution.^[1][2][3] It was the first LGBT rights organization in history.^[3][4][5] The motto of the organization was "Per scientiam ad justitiam" ("through science to justice"), and the committee included representatives from various professions.^[4][2] The committee's membership peaked at about 700 people.^[4] In 1929, Kurt Hiller took over as chairman of the group from Hirschfeld. At its peak, the WhK had branches in approximately 25 cities in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.