IMHO: Considering the time period, it was really beyond comprehension to the average person what behavior homosexuals engaged in - it was literally "unmentionable" in a time when political incorrectness didn't exist because it's converse had not yet reared it's ugly head. Of course, well-read people knew it existed - it was just beyond the pale to discuss it in the national culture of that age.
I'm inclined to agree with your take on why this wasn't given more emphasis at that time, the end of WW II. This was a topic we generally didn't talk about.