Gay love in Nazi Germany. We were up so often
Text* published on the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (United States), freely translated by Silvia Lanzi
The night exists to do more than sleep, that's why, my love, we stayed up so often.
Manfred and Gad spent many nights together. They often stayed in the crowded Lewin family home. At first, Manfred struggled with the sexual part of his relationship with Gad. But Gad remembers a moment when Manfred finally accepted him, saying “with Gad everything is fine."
Even now, Gad doesn't know if Manfred's parents knew about the sexual aspect of their friendship. Due to the night curfew imposed on Berlin's Jews it was not unusual to have overnight guests. The Nazis persecuted homosexuals as enemies of the “Reich.”
The Lewin family
Photograph of the Lewin family, Berlin, 1941. From right: Arthur Lewin (father), Manfred, Jizchak Schwersenz, Rudolf, Schlomo, Gerd, Jenny (mother), and Caecilie.
* The young Manfred noted this turbulent period in a small handmade notebook, which he gave to his friend and fellow gay Gad Beck, who, having survived the Holocaust, donated the notebook to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (United States United) in December 1999. A 17-page notebook illustrating the daily life of the two friends, their group and the culture in which they lived.
Original text: Page 8
