There are not many people in history as cool as Gad Beck, a gay Jewish hero in Nazi Berlin.  Beck was the child of a Jewish father and a Christian mother.  This kind of thing was relatively common in early 20th century Berlin.  It was also the kind of thing that drove the Nazis wild, but paradoxically, it also protected Beck, his sister, and even his father, all of whom survived the war.  Beck’s Christian relatives, it must be said, were never turned by the Nazis and helped protect Beck’s family too, to the extent of their power:  at least they helped feed them and tried to hide them when it was necessary.  The increasing separation of Jews from the rest of society made Beck feel very attached to his Jewish identity, however.  He insisted, against his parents’ will, on going to a Jewish high school.  He had a long series of Jewish boyfriends.  And ultimately, became a leader of the anti Nazi resistance in Berlin, serving as the lynchpin of a system that kept many of the last surviving Jews in the city hidden, fed, and alive.