Resistance: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII

by Avery Cassell, Diane Kanzler (Editor), Ajuan Mance (Artist)

Resistance: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII is a 2019 Lambda Literary Award Finalist! London, Paris, and Berlin were exciting and vibrant hubs for LGBT culture in Europe in the 1920s and early 1930s, flush with gay clubs, newspapers, drag shows, literature, art and more. All that changed with the rise of fascism and Hitler's power grab in 1933. In a few short years, the liberal Weimar Republic in Berlin transformed from a progressive democracy to a Nazi led dictatorship. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transsexuals fought against the Nazis, but their struggles have often been overlooked by history books. In Resistance: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII, we honor those people. This important book is a collection of fully illustrated historical biographies of 41 LGBT freedom fighters, with illustrations by 21 contemporary LGBTQ+ activists. Written by Avery Cassell, edited by Diane Kanzler, and foreword by Laura Antoniou.

Genres: History, Queer, Nonfiction, LGBT, World War II, Queer Studies, Graphic Novels

184 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2018

About the author

Avery Cassell is a writer, poet, cartoonist, and artist.

Their works include Masculinities: boi • bulldagger • butch • masc • MOC • soft butch • stud • tomboy • transmasc Colorist's Edition, the 2019 Lammy finalist, Resistance: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII, Behrouz Gets Lucky, The Solstice Gift: Behrouz and Lucky on the Longest Night, winner of the 2020 Pauline Reage Novel Award from the National Leather Association, the Butch Lesbians of the 20s, 30s, and 40s Coloring Book, the Butch Lesbians of the 50s, 60s, and 70s Coloring Book, and several anthologies.

Reviews

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great because not only does it give and diverse and rich number of illustrations by many artists it also teaches about so many little known queer hero's who fought fascism during WW2. I hope these portraits and stories give you strength to take up the fight in any way you can!

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although some citations get quoted word for word in consecutive texts, which makes continuous reading a bit tedious, this is a wonderful book.
It makes sense to approach the texts with time to let them sink in and this time can perfectly be used with coloring the beautiful illustrations that accompany each biography.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A queer history book that you can color in is an adult dream that I didn't know I had until I picked this up. In our current climate, a collection of stories about all the LGBT badasses who resisted fascism in WWII is exactly the inspiration and uplift I needed. I learned so much about the progressiveness of the Weimar Republic, and how quickly all that progress was able to be undone.The amazing art work accompanying the short biographies brings the stories of courage and hope to life.

Knowing the stories of these heroes isn't just a cautionary tale of what we may face if we're not vigilant, but a tale of hope in the face of opression and hatred. The path may be a difficult one, but we have the example of the love, optimism and tenacity of those who came before us in these stories.