LGBTQ+ and Nazis > Likes and Comments

I am interested to hear your thoughts on this new novel, only Breath & Shadow by Andrew Tweeddale, which is out in book form on 1st April 2026 but which is available as a pre order on kindle. It features a central thread following a gay relationship between a Viennese art dealer and a cabaret performer inspired by the real life entertainer Paul O’Montis, who was targeted by the Nazis for his satire of Hitler. I’d be particularly interested in discussing the lesser known history of LGBTQ+ persecution under Nazism, the role of art and performance as defiance, and how fiction can bring these hidden stories to life for modern readers.

Only Breath and Shadow is out on 1st April 2026 and is available as a pre order on kindle.

Ok I’ll bite and try and start a discussion

What draws me to Only Breath & Shadow by Andrew Tweeddale is how it brings together a deeply human love story with a lesser known chapter of history: the persecution of LGBTQ+ people under Nazism. They literally had to live in the shadow.

It is a story about how a blind man, Christian, safeguards 4 Jewish children from the Gestapo. Christian’s best friend Tomas is gay and lives with Paul, a cabaret artist who is wanted by the Gestapo for being gay and satirising Hitler.

Between ~1933–1945, around 100,000 men were arrested, and thousands were sent to concentration camps just for being gay or Trans. They were made to wear the pink triangle.

Survivors of this persecution were not widely recognised or compensated after the war as being LGBTQ+ remained criminalised in Germany for decades.

By centring a relationship between Tomas and Paul the novel highlights how art and performance functioned as both refuge and resistance in an increasingly repressive world.

Cabaret culture, with its wit, ambiguity, and subversive edge, posed a real threat to authoritarian control.

Stories like this don’t just illuminate the past, they remind us how fragile cultural and personal freedoms can be, and how vital it is to remember those whose voices were nearly erased

Only Breath & Shadow sounds remarkable. I shall look for it. Thanks for the recommendation.