Holocaust Centre North

Between 1933 and 1945 the German Nazi regime and its collaborators persecuted Jewish men, women and children across Europe. By the end of the Second World War in 1945 the regime had murdered six million of them. This genocide is known as the Holocaust.

The Nazis also targeted Roma people and those with disabilities. They persecuted and murdered millions of other people across Europe including Polish citizens, Soviet prisoners of war, political and religious opponents, homosexuals and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Some Jewish people who escaped or survived the genocide made their lives in the north of England. Their stories are told in the Holocaust Centre North.

The Holocaust Centre North’s Archive is a precious time capsule. It is one that tells life-affirming stories of survivors of Nazi persecution starting fresh lives in the north of England but also one that reminds us of the horrors of war. The eyewitness experiences are moving and ensure that the legacy of the Nazi genocide is not denied or forgotten.

More photos can be seen here.

Gerhard “Gad” Beck

You’ve probably never heard of Gad Beck, but he was an LGBT+ hero. Beck and his twin sister Margot was born in Berlin on 30 June 1923 to a “mixed” marriage: his father was Jewish, and his mother was legally Christian (though she converted in order to get married).

He also showed very early that he was gay: he was the kind of boy who likes to dress up as a girl and play with dolls. He started having sex with other guys – lots of sex – just after puberty. And Beck was never in the closet about any of this. He was only half-Jewish, which could offer you some protection in the Nazi period, but he always identified with Jews, and although his family was middle class and didn’t live in the old “ghetto” neighbourhood in the centre of Berlin, he insisted on going to a Jewish school in the ghetto. He was remarkably open about his sexuality as well, both intentionally – he told his mother about his first sexual experience right afterward – and unintentionally, because he was the kind of “queeny” gay guy whose sexuality is no secret.

The point of this story is: Beck ended up running the largest Jewish resistance organisation in Nazi Berlin, funnelling fake food coupons and sometimes fake ID papers to hidden Jews in the city. This job fell on him because (although not very educated – he had to drop out of school as the Nazis ramped up persecution and impoverished his family) he was very clever, and also because he had something we can only call “balls”. He ran circles around the Gestapo.

The best story about Beck tells you everything about him. In 1941, he fell in love with a boy called Manfred Lewin (pronounced Levine). Manfred was 100% Jewish, and eventually he and his family were rounded up for deportation. So what did Beck do? Well, he freaked out, of course. But he didn’t just give up, as anyone else would. Instead, he dressed up in a borrowed Hitler Youth uniform (pinned up because it was 3 sizes too big), went down to the deportation centre, Heil Hitler-ed his way through the door, and made up a ridiculous story that got the commandant to release Lewin into his custody! The story doesn’t end well: this was early in the war, so people didn’t realise (or weren’t sure) that deportation meant death, and Lewin felt he couldn’t abandon his parents and siblings as they were going to a work camp. So he went back in and died with his family in Auschwitz.

“Gad, I can’t go with you. My family needs me. If I abandon them now, I could never be free.” No smile, no sadness. He had made his decision. We didn’t even say goodbye. He turned around and went back. In those seconds, watching him go, I grew up.

Gad Beck describing the moment his lover Manfred Lewin chose to return to his family, to be deported to their deaths at Auschwitz

Beck never got over it (of course). I always think it’s amazing that somehow, despite being arrested by the Gestapo twice and buried alive during a bombing, he managed to keep a little book of drawings and poems that Lewin made for him (and which he donated to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC). But it was also the moment where he decided to fight the Nazis with all of his might – all the might that courage and wit gave this short, gay, Jewish super-hero!

Gad Beck died aged 88 in 2012.

Signed portrait of Manfred Lewin, a member of the Hehalutz Zionist youth movement in Berlin, who was deported to Auschwitz in November 1942. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Jizchak Schwersenz.

Making Gay History

Making Gay History is an award-winning podcast featuring intimate, personal portraits of both known and long forgotten champions, heroes and witnesses to history.

Season 14 is titled “Voices from the Shadows: LGBTQ Experiences During the Nazi Era” and has 12 episodes on the experiences of LGBTQ people during the rise of the Nazi regime, World War II and the Holocaust.

The podcasts include archival interviews that bring this painful, often hidden history to life through the voices of the people who lived it.

Polish teenager Stefan Kosinski was beaten, tortured and sent to prison. His crime? He fell in love with a Viennese soldier serving in the German army. When the soldier was sent to the Eastern Front, Stefan sent him a love letter, which was intercepted by the Nazis.

When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1940, Frieda Belinfante dedicated herself to helping others. She forged IDs to save Jews from deportation and joined a resistance group that carried out a daring act of sabotage.

Lucy Salani was assigned male at birth, so when she came of age she was conscripted into the Italian army. She soon deserted – the first of several daring escapes that eventually landed her in Dachau. She’s one of the few trans people to testify about their experiences in Nazi concentration camps.

Pride in Trafford

Pride in Trafford returns with a vibrant celebration of LGBT+ arts, creativity and community across the borough.

Trafford has unveiled the programme for its seventh annual Pride in Trafford festival. This year they’ve expanded the celebration beyond Sale to include events in Altrincham, making it the most exciting and inclusive year yet.

Festival Highlights:   Official Festival Launch: Join them for speeches, poetry and song as we raise the Pride Flag on Waterside Plaza. Youth Pride: Creative activities with a focus on the youth voice at Gorse Hill Studios. A Northern Tr*nny Hootenanny: Presented by Hunter King, an uplifting queer parody musical and the story of Hunter’s transition. The Wheel of Nouns: The Gender Fairy is loose in this new cabaret, interactive comedy! The Queer Creatives Assembly: A chance to connect, collaborate and celebrate with LGBTQ+ creatives. Buff: A funny yet poignant body-positive solo theatre show. Jay Farley – A (Cupboard) Full of Tomboys: Step into the surreal world of Jay Farley, a neurodiverse filmmaker and poet. I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar: This cabaret show is a sonic love letter to Lesbian Bars of a bygone era. Block Party: An exciting afternoon of free outdoor activities on Waterside Plaza, featuring specially curated activities for children and young people and their families, followed by live performances on The Bandstand. Drag and Draw: OYEZ Arts will be delivering a two-hour guided art workshop at Altrincham Town Hall, featuring a fabulous drag model and an atmosphere filled with DJ-spun beats.

From powerful performances and artistic showcases to moments of reflection and fun-filled gatherings, Pride in Trafford offers a dynamic space where everyone can come together to celebrate love, identity and diversity.

For more information and bookings, see here.

Now is the Time

Let’s show the world that Now is the Time for equity, dignity, justice and joy:

Now is the time to lift the weight,
Of silence, judgement, fear and hate.
To speak the names we’ve pushed aside,
To hold a space, to turn the tide.

Now is the time to name what’s wrong,
To right the past, to make all strong.
To see each soul, each heart, each face,
And build a world of equal place.

Now is the time to change our speech,
To think, reflect, to learn, to teach.
To catch the slip, to shift the phrase,
And honour all in what we say.

Now is the time to share your truth,
To lead with hope, to teach the youth.
To pledge a way, to own your part,
And hold inclusion at the heart.

By Alyson Malach

Director Equality and Diversity UK Ltd