Lessons Learned: Surviving the Holocaust as a Gay Man

@ 2026 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All rights reserved

        Lessons Learned: Surviving the Holocaust as a Gay Man
    Rudolf Brazda, who died in 2011, recounted his experiences surviving Buchenwald. Watch him tell his story.
 Neal Broverman
          
          Jan 27, 2017
          
        
Neal Broverman
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
 See Full Bio 
                  Follow:
                  
On January 27, the world honors the millions of victims of the Holocaust -- the systematic murdering of Jews, disabled people, gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, and gays at the hands of Germany's Nazi regime during World War II.
German-born Rudolf Brazda was one of the gay men imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. After being arrested for homosexual behavior -- illegal in Germany at the time, thanks to the infamous Paragraph 175 -- he was sent to the Buchenwald camp, where he was regularly subjected to abuse. Brazda was able to survive thanks to his ability to adapt and the aid of a possibly gay SS officer who became "infatuated" with him. Brazda recounted his experiences at Buchenwald in a video made shortly before his death in 2011; watch it below. 
Read more here about Brazda, who eventually settled in France with his partner and outlived nearly all his Nazi captors.

Rudolf Brazda, last of the Pink Triangles... by EugeneOcie

        
        FROM OUR SPONSORS
        
    

        
        The Latest
        
    
Opinion
        Now Kristi Noem wants privacy
    After the former DHS secretary’s husband, Bryon Noem, was accused of having a secret cross-dressing fetish, she no longer wants to be the center of attention, writes Josh Ackley.
Josh Ackley
Opinion
        The Supreme Court just handed conversion therapy a new license for violence
    The high court has opened the door for dangerous harm to kids, writes Josh Ackley.
Josh Ackley
States
        Tennessee board fires library director who refused to comply with LGBTQ+ book purge
    The Rutherford County Library board terminated Luanne James after she said she would not comply with censorship directives.
Jacob Ogles
News
        Meta continues using transphobic company language despite its Oversight Board’s warning
    For nearly a year, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram has been dragging its feet on removing an anti-trans term from its policies.
Jack Walker

        
        More For You
        
        Retired Space Force colonel warns Trump’s Iran strikes are ‘reckless adventurism and distraction’
    
Christopher Wiggins
Feb 28, 2026
An NBC News live feed airs a clip from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social video announcement in the White House James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on February 28, 2026, in Washington, DC. 

        Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    
        Update: Pete Buttigieg & Robert Garcia join chorus of leaders condemning Donald Trump’s ‘war of choice’ with Iran Keep Reading →

        Puerto Vallarta felt like ‘The Purge,' American says of unrest in Mexican tourist destination
    
Christopher Wiggins
Feb 23, 2026
The Malecon boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco state, Mexico.

         Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
    
        Shortly after mid-morning Sunday, black smoke began rising in staggered columns across the curve of Mexico’s Bay of Banderas, a familiar postcard vista that, by nightfall, had become a horizon of surging unrest. Keep Reading →

        Hillary Clinton and Sarah McBride expose how weaponizing ‘scarcity’ drives anti-trans political attacks
    
Christopher Wiggins
Feb 18, 2026
Hillary Clinton moderates the panel talk "Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights: Fighting the Global Pushback" at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2026 in Munich, Germany. 

        Johannes Simon/Getty Images
    
        The first out transgender member of the U.S. Congress took the world stage in Germany last week, warning that attacks on people like her and on LGBTQ+ rights more broadly are being weaponized in the current political climate, as she joined former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on a high-profile panel at the Munich Security Conference. Keep Reading →

        Canadian school shooting sparks anti-trans uproar after shooter identified
    
Ryan Adamczeski
Feb 12, 2026
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to the media about the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Parliament Hill February 11, 2026 in Ottawa, Canada. 

        Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images
    
        Canadian authorities have identified the shooter who killed eight people — mostly children — at a school in British Columbia on Tuesday. Keep Reading →

        LGBTQ+ people are important to global economy, corporate allies say at Davos
    
Christopher Wiggins
Jan 22, 2026
Workday showed its LGBTQ+ support at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

        GLAAD
    
        As rainbow lights washed across corporate venues in the Swiss Alpine resort town of Davos, advocates and allies sent a message that cut through the noise of the World Economic Forum: LGBTQ+ people belong in the global economy, even — and perhaps especially — when powerful leaders try to push them out. Keep Reading →

        Most Popular
        
News
        Gay adult actor Seth Peterson dies at age 28
    The actor, who rose to prominence through his projects with Helix Studios, was announced dead in a social media post over the weekend.
Elaina Patton
National
        Transgender military community gathers to honor its own as Trump’s ban grinds forward
    At a Washington dinner honoring transgender service members and allies with the Albert Cashier Awards, the mood was defiant, grieving, and, somehow, joyful.
Christopher Wiggins
Transgender Health
        This Trans Day of Visibility, help these 5 trans people afford gender-affirming surgery costs
    You can contribute to these fundraising campaigns online through GoFundMe.
Jack Walker
States
        Tennessee House passes de facto transgender registry bill
    Republican lawmakers say it’s about health data. Critics say it’s about tracking trans people.
Christopher Wiggins
Opinion
        Why I created a transgender Jesus for our time
    Artist Cosimo Cavallaro explains why his latest work reimagines Christ through a trans lens at a moment of political urgency.
Cosimo Cavallaro
Politics
        Lindsey Graham seen dining at Disney World, as airport lines grow
    As the partial government shutdown causing chaos at U.S. travel hubs entered its sixth week on Sunday, the Republican senator was seen enjoying himself at Chef Mickey’s.
Elaina Patton

Site Navigation

Lessons Learned: Surviving the Holocaust as a Gay Man

Rudolf Brazda, who died in 2011, recounted his experiences surviving Buchenwald. Watch him tell his story.

The Latest

Now Kristi Noem wants privacy

After the former DHS secretary’s husband, Bryon Noem, was accused of having a secret cross-dressing fetish, she no longer wants to be the center of attention, writes Josh Ackley.

The Supreme Court just handed conversion therapy a new license for violence

The high court has opened the door for dangerous harm to kids, writes Josh Ackley.

Tennessee board fires library director who refused to comply with LGBTQ+ book purge

The Rutherford County Library board terminated Luanne James after she said she would not comply with censorship directives.

LGBTQ+ stories deserve to betold.

Bruno Minister Runs for Mayor

Adam Levine Critiques Idol for Hiding Gay Life

13 LGBTQ+ British Royals in History

Edwin Chiloba's killer sentenced to 50 years in prison for murdering the LGBTQ+ activist

Pete Buttigieg & Robert Garcia join chorus of leaders condemning Donald Trump’s ‘war of choice’ with Iran

More For You

Retired Space Force colonel warns Trump’s Iran strikes are ‘reckless adventurism and distraction’

Puerto Vallarta felt like ‘The Purge,' American says of unrest in Mexican tourist destination

Hillary Clinton and Sarah McBride expose how weaponizing ‘scarcity’ drives anti-trans political attacks

Canadian school shooting sparks anti-trans uproar after shooter identified

LGBTQ+ people are important to global economy, corporate allies say at Davos

Most Popular

Gay adult actor Seth Peterson dies at age 28

The actor, who rose to prominence through his projects with Helix Studios, was announced dead in a social media post over the weekend.

Transgender military community gathers to honor its own as Trump’s ban grinds forward

At a Washington dinner honoring transgender service members and allies with the Albert Cashier Awards, the mood was defiant, grieving, and, somehow, joyful.

This Trans Day of Visibility, help these 5 trans people afford gender-affirming surgery costs

You can contribute to these fundraising campaigns online through GoFundMe.

Tennessee House passes de facto transgender registry bill

Republican lawmakers say it’s about health data. Critics say it’s about tracking trans people.

Why I created a transgender Jesus for our time

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro explains why his latest work reimagines Christ through a trans lens at a moment of political urgency.

Lindsey Graham seen dining at Disney World, as airport lines grow

As the partial government shutdown causing chaos at U.S. travel hubs entered its sixth week on Sunday, the Republican senator was seen enjoying himself at Chef Mickey’s.

Latest Stories

Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week.

Lessons Learned: Surviving the Holocaust as a Gay Man

Rudolf Brazda, who died in 2011, recounted his experiences surviving Buchenwald. Watch him tell his story.

FROM OUR SPONSORS

The Latest

After the former DHS secretary’s husband, Bryon Noem, was accused of having a secret cross-dressing fetish, she no longer wants to be the center of attention, writes Josh Ackley.

The high court has opened the door for dangerous harm to kids, writes Josh Ackley.

The Rutherford County Library board terminated Luanne James after she said she would not comply with censorship directives.

For nearly a year, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram has been dragging its feet on removing an anti-trans term from its policies.

LGBTQ+ stories deserve to betold.

More For You

Most Popular

The actor, who rose to prominence through his projects with Helix Studios, was announced dead in a social media post over the weekend.

At a Washington dinner honoring transgender service members and allies with the Albert Cashier Awards, the mood was defiant, grieving, and, somehow, joyful.

You can contribute to these fundraising campaigns online through GoFundMe.

Republican lawmakers say it’s about health data. Critics say it’s about tracking trans people.

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro explains why his latest work reimagines Christ through a trans lens at a moment of political urgency.

As the partial government shutdown causing chaos at U.S. travel hubs entered its sixth week on Sunday, the Republican senator was seen enjoying himself at Chef Mickey’s.