Interview with Oswalt Kolle (1928-2010): German sex education pioneer

Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956) was the first pioneer of scientific sexology after World War II with his surveys on human sexuality in the male (1948) and the female (1953), which underwent worldwide translations and also had a major impact in Europe.

To clarify the role of the journalist Oswalt Kolle (1928-2010) as the promoter of sex education in Germany and Western Europe in the late 1960s.

The information is almost exclusively based on a live interview taken with the time witness Oswalt Kolle in February 2010. This scientific technique of oral history is well established in the field of history research today.

Kolle has a strong family background in the medical field as his father was a well-known psychiatrist and his grandfather a prominent bacteriologist. Before starting an interest in sex education, Kolle was a successful journalist by interviewing celebrities but turned into one of the most important critics against the restricted views on sex in Germany and Western Europe in the 1960s. His books and films on sexuality were translated into at least 12 languages and were major blockbusters for at least a decade.

Oswalt Kolle had more influence on the public awareness and practice of sexuality in Western Europe and especially Germany than any other single person in his time.