The Lilac People
30 March 2026
The book follows Bertie, a trans man employed by Germany’s Institute for Sexual Science, before and after the events of WW2.
In my mind I had naively assumed that LGBT rights improved with a mostly upward trend (albeit maybe with some flat bits) as society got more progressive over time. But actually there was work being done in pre-WW2 Germany to try and improve the lives of trans people, which was all reversed when the Nazis came into power in the 1930s.
The founder of the Institute, Magnus Hirschfield, coined the terms transsexual and transvestite (although these terms are now outdated they are used in the book for historical accuracy), and is featured as a minor character in the book. He also implemented a “transvestite pass” to allow trans people to present as their gender identity (as cross-dressing was illegal at the time). The main character, Bertie, works at Hirschfield’s Institute, and helps gives tours to people interested in learning more about LGBT topics.
Now it’s not like things were perfect - there was still discrimination and harassment - but there’s quite a hopeful tone at the beginning of the book. But unfortunately this is also a book about WW2, which always gets quite depressing. With the Nazis coming into power, they quickly overturn any sort of progress, burn all the books and research in the Institute and even use the previously issued passes to root out trans people.
And then what’s really a kick in the teeth - when WW2 ends and America liberates Germany, they really have no interest in helping LGBT people (if anything, they share a lot of views with the Nazis). So while Jewish people and other minorities are freed from the concentration camps, those guilty of LGBT related “crimes” instead continue to serve out a prison sentence instead of being freed as well.
The author has put a lot of care and research into painting a picture of what living as a trans person might have been like around this time in Germany, so I think it is a really valuable book. So in that sense, I feel a bit bad to give this one a 4 star rating. I thought it was an interesting and informative read, albeit a little depressing, but not one I would necessarily whole-heartedly recommend everyone to read (which is what classifies a book as a 5 star for me).