Up until the late 1800s, if you were suspected of being homosexual you were not only arrested, but sentenced to death. Homosexuality wasn't decriminalised in Britain until The Sexual Offences Act in 1967 (which is still over a decade away). This Act only applied to England and Wales, and did not cover the Armed Forces. Homosexuality in Scotland and Northern Ireland was not decriminalised until even later, in 1980 and 1982, respectively. Prior to the Act, those caught having a relationship with someone of the same sex were most often convicted and imprisoned, yet Britain was still considered to be one of the more tolerant countries.
There is high social stigma against openly gay men and women. It is likely that gay and bisexual characters struggle to find work and acceptance from other characters, and they are often discriminated against. They may be turned away by restaurants, cafés, or even their friends. Some openly gay characters may even find that their civil rights are taken away from them, and most must hide their sexuality just so they can earn a living.
Homosexuality was officially made illegal in Germany in 1871, and this law was further extended under Nazi rule. Those suspected of being homosexual were mercilessly persecuted, resulting in a huge increase of convictions. Penalties were severe, and many gay men died as a result. In 1950, the Nazi extensions to the law were lifted, but homosexuality (for men) remained a crime in East Germany until 1968, and until 1969 in West Germany.
How does this play out? After the merciless persecution of homosexual men during World War II, most gay characters will continue to be extremely afraid of being openly gay. Homosexuality is still a crime; much like in Britain, there is still high social stigma against gay characters, particularly men. Many may face imprisonment or a removal of their civil rights if they are discovered to be gay, so try to hide their sexuality.
In America
This was a turbulent time for gay rights. While it was still illegal for two men to engage in homosexual relations, 1950 saw the founding of the Mattachine Society, one of the first LGBT rights organisations that saw some success. However, homosexuality was very much regarded as a mental illness, which led to the banning of gay men and women from working within the federal government in 1953. Homosexuality was aligned with Communism, and the persecution of gay people by the American government escalated into what is known as the Lavender Scare.
How does this play out? Again, there is high social stigma against openly gay characters. They are faced with unemployment if they do not hide their sexuality, and find themselves shunned by a large majority of society. That said, LGBT rights organisations are beginning to surface, so it is possible that gay characters are able to express themselves more freely within such organisations.
Rules Regarding Homophobia
This site does not and will never encourage homophobic behavior out of character. That said, we are writing in an era where many such attitudes still abound, especially in the Muggle world. An area of conflict in World War II (which only ended recently, in 1945) was sexuality, and to roleplay without acknowledging such a rich background would be a shame.
We follow the site guidelines on discrimination (see here (http://hogwarts-school.net/castle/index.php?page=site_rating) for more), and under no circumstances are homophobic slurs allowed, whether it's in character in a post or out of character. Your characters are allowed to dislike people for homophobic reasons and you are welcome to play this out, but we don't want to see the language. There are more creative and subtle ways of going about dealing with such issues and playing out the attitudes of the era, and we encourage you to take this as a challenge.
In addition, please remember that the site-wide rating is PG-13. We ask that your writing also follows this rule as well.