Finalist for the New England Book Award "Reminiscent of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We
Cannot See . . . Heart-stopping in its suspense and dramatic reveals." — The Boston Globe A
moving and deeply humane story about a trans man who must relinquish the freedoms of prewar
Berlin to survive first the Nazis then the Allies all while protecting the ones he loves In
1932 Berlin a trans man named Bertie and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado
Club the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr.
Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science Bertie works to improve queer rights in
Germany and beyond. But everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The Institute is raided
the Eldorado is shuttered and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his
girlfriend Sofie to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and
live for more than a decade in isolation. In the final days of the war with their freedom in
sight Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property still dressed in
Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis but from the Allied
forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically
as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family their only salvation is to flee to
the United States. Brimming with hope resilience and the enduring power of community The
Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an unknown
moment of World War II and trans history.
