April 24, 2000
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM HOSTS AN EVENING WITH GAD BECK, HOMOSEXUAL JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s An Evening With... series will feature a conversation with gay Jewish Holocaust Survivor Gad Beck about his life as a homosexual in Berlin’s underground during the Nazi era. The program will be held Thursday, April 27, at 7:00 p.m. Joan Ringelheim, director of the Museum’s Oral History department, will talk with Mr. Beck about his life. Admission is free and open to the public, but reservations are strongly encouraged. To guarantee seating, please contact tickets.com at (800) 400-9373. Tickets.com service fees apply.
Mr. Beck will recount his life as a resistance fighter and the double risk he faced as a Jew and a homosexual covertly operating to save others from Nazi persecution. At age 19 Beck carried out one of his most courageous acts, disguising himself as a member of the Hitler Youth in an attempt to rescue a friend from imminent death. Although unsuccessful, Beck persevered as part of Berlin’s underground. At age 76, Beck still lives in Berlin today.
“Gad Beck’s story of survival in Nazi Berlin as a Jew and homosexual is a remarkable one,” said Paul Shapiro, Director of the Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. “The fact that the odds against survival were so high to begin with makes his acts of resistance — with the additional risk they entailed — even more admirable. The Nazi persecution of homosexuals is a subject that deserves more study. Fear of continued harassment has prevented many survivors from coming forward with their stories. Here, again, Mr. Beck’s testimony sets a standard of courage.” The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies will host a day-long symposium on the persecution of homosexuals during the Nazi period on Friday, April 28, from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The symposium is made possible by a generous grant from the Wortman Family Trust.
A unique public-private partnership, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has welcomed more than 13.5 million visitors since it opened in April 1993. This May, it will mark two decades of its founders’ visionary leadership with the opening of its newest exhibition, Flight and Rescue, the national Days of Remembrance ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, and an evening honoring the work of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and its successor, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
For more information regarding the program, please contact Andy Hollinger at (202) 488-6133 or ahollinger@ushmm.org.
