It was trilingual and distributed internationally and gained significant influence in the homosexual movement at the time until it ceased publication in 1967.
The first issue was eight pages, credited editor "Fredy-Torrero" (Laura Thoma's alias) and proclaimed two related mottos: "Through light to freedom."
[5] By and large, the magazine contained very little risqué content since Meier wanted to promote "a high-minded vision of homosexuality" that valued friendship over sex.
Der Kreis-Club hosted an international ball in Zürich each year which attracted hundreds of gay men from around Europe.
[2] In Hubert Kennedy's book The Ideal Gay Man, which chronicles the history of Der Kreis, Kennedy describes the magazine as having been "the world's most important journal promoting the legal and social rights of gay men" for much of its publication period and one of very few such journals in Europe at the time.