Imagine you're a gay Jewish teenager in Nazi Berlin.

Your boyfriend, also Jewish, is being "deported to the East" with his whole family. What do you do?

Well, this is what one Jewish teenager did: He borrowed a Hitler Youth uniform, went down to the deportation center, "Heil Hitler"-ed his way past the guards, and bullshitted: he said that his boyfriend Manfred had hidden keys that his work group needed to renovate bombed out apartments. And his ploy worked! The Commandant released Manfred into his custody. "You'll bring him back, right?" is all the Commandant said. "What would I need a Jew for?" the teenager replied as they walked out the door.

Welcome to the story of Gad Beck, a gay Jewish resistance leader in Nazi Berlin—and his boyfriend Manfred Lewin, who tragically perished in Auschwitz. I’m Professor Andrew Lear, an award-winning LGBTQ+ historian and founder of Oscar Wilde Tours. I’m developing a film about Beck with an exceptional team: Emanuel Rotstein (History Channel, Bavaria Film), an award-winning producer known for his groundbreaking work on historical and Holocaust documentaries in Germany; Hendrik Hinzel, an award-winning LGBTQ+ filmmaker working in both the U.S. and Germany (VICE); and Allan Neuwirth, an award-winning writer, producer and developer of feature films and TV series—best known as a producer of "Call Me By Your Name." Together, we’re bringing this powerful and timely story to life.

We are raising money to make a sizzle reel/trailer to bring this groundbreaking project to investors. We're looking to raise $10,000.

This is an important story for today. It's about the Holocaust, which a lot of people seem to be forgetting, and a story about a teenage gay Holocaust hero—something that has never appeared in Hollywood before.

Beck was “out and proud” long before those concepts existed. He came out to his parents when he was 12 — like some kid in 2025. He was also very into his Jewish identity, although in fact he was only half Jewish. This gave him some protection from the Nazi killing machine, but Beck used his privilege to protect others. By the end of the war, he was helping three dozen endangered Jews hide in the city, getting them fake ID papers (and food!), helping with escape plans, etc.

Gad Beck's story shows what you do with your identities when you're being persecuted for them: you wear them with pride. And what you do when fascists are after you — you stand with your community, and RESIST!

It's a story that needs to be told, but we can’t do it without you. Please join us, and help us share this powerful untold story with the world.