Despite being both gay and Jewish, Gad Beck survived the entire duration of Nazi rule living in Berlin.
Despite being both gay and Jewish, Gad Beck survived the entire duration of Nazi rule living in Berlin. He was 19 when, in 1941, his friends and neighbours began to be rounded up and deported. Gad actively resisted Nazi persecution, assuming a leading role in the Chug Chaluzi, a Jewish resistance group linked to a European network coordinated from Switzerland. Gad ranged over the city, arranging safe houses, delivering money, and assisting Jews in attempts to escape Germany. Despite the Nazi regime’s persecution of gay people Gad believed his homosexuality assisted his resistance activities: ‘As a homosexual, I was able to turn to my trusted non-Jewish, homosexual acquaintances to help supply food and hiding places.’ It wasn’t until March 1945 that Gad was betrayed and arrested by the SS. He had evaded the transports eastwards, but had to survive over a month’s captivity to outlive the war. Gad and his boyfriend Zwi were liberated from prison by the Red Army on 24 April 1945. His paren...