Fellow Travelers (2023)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellow Travelers is a historical drama (a miniseries with eight episodes) which premiered on US television (Showtime) in 2023.

 

The topic of this drama is the gay and lesbian community in the USA during the Cold War.

 

The story presented in the drama covers thirty-five years (1952-1987).

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Creator: Ron Nyswaner

** Directors: James Kent, Daniel Minahan, and others

** Writers: Brandon K. Hines and others

** Based on the book Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon (2007)

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 8 x ca. 55 minutes = 440 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Matt Bomer as Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller – a World War II veteran - an official at the State Department who carefully hides the fact that he is a homosexual

 

** Jonathan Bailey as Timothy “Tim” Laughlin – a young and idealistic congressional staffer who becomes entangled with Hawkins

 

** Jelani Aladin as Marcus Gaines – a gay African American reporter who is opposed to the racial segregation which was used in Washington, DC, during the 1950s

 

** Linus Roache as Senator Wesley Smith – a father figure to Hawkins and an opponent of McCarthyism – this character is partly based on the politician Lester C. Hunt (1892-1954)

** Noah J. Ricketts as Frankie Hines – a drag queen who is in love with Marcus Gaines

 

** Allison Williams as Lucy Smith – daughter of Senator Smith and a childhood friend of Hawkins

 

The second group

** Will Brill as Roy Cohn (1927-1986) – a lawyer who works with Senator McCarthy

 

** Chris Bauer as Joe McCarthy (1908-1957) – a Senator from Wisconsin

 

** Matt Visser as David Schine (1927-1996) – Roy Cohn’s assistant

 

The story in this drama is fictional, but it is placed in a historical context.

 

The main characters are fictional, but the secondary characters are real historical persons: Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn and David Schine.

 

One of the fictional characters (Senator Smith) is partly based on a real historical person: Lester C. Hunt.

 

Here is some basic information regarding the era which is covered in this historical drama:

 

** The Cold War 1945-1990

A global conflict between East and West

 

** The Second Red Scare 1947-1957

A campaign in which real or alleged communists are persecuted, arrested and in a few cases killed

 

** McCarthyism 1950-1954

A campaign which was organized by a Senator from Wisconsin: Joe McCarthy

 

** The Lavender Scare

A long-running campaign to find and punish homosexual men and lesbian women in the federal administration

 

During the years when this conflict and these campaigns were happening, American society suffered from several contradictions:

 

# 1. The individual or the group?

 

One aspect of American culture is about the individual.

 

The individual is encouraged to stand out and to be special. You can be a hero or a star.

 

But another aspect of American culture is about the group.

 

You are encouraged to join the group. You should do and say the same as the people around you. Do not stand out. Do not try to be special.

 

# 2. Patriot or traitor?

 

One aspect of American culture is about freedom.

 

The US is regarded as the best and the greatest country in the world, because its citizens have more freedom than other people.

 

Many Americans are patriots.

 

They can say and do almost anything they want. They are even allowed to criticize the president if they do not agree with the political line of his government.

 

Another aspect of American culture is about dissidents and traitors.

 

If you complain about the government, you stand out as a dissident. Why do you complain so much?

 

You should be grateful that you have freedom and you should show your gratitude by putting an end to your complaints.

 

You are a dissident. Perhaps you are a communist? Perhaps you are a traitor? You should be a patriot and support your country.

 

Americans are under great pressure to conform. Dissidents are not wanted. Why not?

 

Because they might be communists!

 

Because communists are traitors!

 

# 3. Heterosexual or not?

 

A young man should get married and have children.

 

If a young man does not get married, there must be something wrong with him.

 

Perhaps he is gay?

 

We cannot accept this!

 

We must find every man who is gay and we must punish them!

 

A young woman should get married and have children.

 

If a young woman does not get married, there must be something wrong with her.

 

Perhaps she is lesbian?

 

We cannot accept this!

 

We must find every woman who is lesbian and we must punish them!

 

In this drama, the contradictions of American society are explored with special focus on the gay and lesbian community.

 

Reviews and ratings

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

Here are some results:

 

82 percent = IMDb

91 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

92 percent = Rotten tomatoes (the critics)

 

On Amazon there are at the moment 96 ratings of this product, including 34 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.9 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 98 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are very good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with many of them, but I cannot go all the way to the top.

 

This drama is good but not great. 

 

I think the rating on IMDb is very appropriate. This product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Books

 

Coming Out under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two

By Allan Berube

(1990 = hardcover)

(2000 = paperback)

 

Homosexuality in Cold War America:

Resistance and the Crisis of Masculinity

By Robert J. Corber

(1997)

 

The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government

By David K. Johnson

(2004 = hardcover)

(2023 = paperback)

 

Fellow Travelers

A historical novel

By Thomas Mallon

(2007 = hardcover)

(2008 = paperback)

 

The Deviant’s War:

The Homosexual vs. the United States of America

By Eric Cervini

(2020 = hardcover)

(2021 = paperback)

 

# 2. Film and video

 

Stonewall Uprising

A documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2010. It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience.

The topic of this film is the LGBT community in New York, with special focus on the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 and events leading up this moment in time.

 

It’s a Sin

A historical drama which premiered on British television (Channel 4) in 2021

A miniseries with five episodes

The topic of this drama is the history of the gay community in Britain, more precisely the life of the gay community in London during the years 1981-1991

 

Riot

A historical drama which premiered on Australian television (ABC) in 2018

The topic of this drama is the gay and lesbian community in Australia

 

*****

Fellow Travelers

a historical novel

by Thomas Mallon

(2007)

 

*****

Quilt panel for 

Roy Cohn:

Bully. Coward. Victim.

(1987) 

 

*****

 

On this blog

 

My review of

Where is My Roy Cohn?

(2019)

 

My review of

Bully. Coward. Victim.

The Story of Roy Cohn

(2019)

 

Posted in August 2021

 

*****

 

My review of 

McCarthy:

Power Feeds on Fear

(2020)

 

 Posted in June 2020

 

*****

 

 

Verbotene Liebe – Queere Opfer der NS-Diktatur (2024)

 

 

 

 

 

Verbotene Liebe – Queere Opfer der NS-Diktatur is a documentary film which premiered on German television (ZDF) in 2024.

 

The topic of this film is the LGBT community in Germany during the time when Hitler and the Nazi Party were in power (1933-1945).

 

Here is some basic information about it:

 

** Writer and director: Sebastian Scherrer

** Narrator: Jan-Philipp Jarke

** Language: German

** Subtitles: German

** Run time: 45 minutes

 

The story of the LGBT community in Germany during the time of the Third Reich is told by focusing on three persons whose lives and experiences can be documented to a certain degree.

 

# 1. Rudolf Brazda (1913-2011)

A homosexual man

 

# 2. Liddy Bacroff (1908-1943)

A trans person

 

# 3. Elli Smula (1914-1943)

A lesbian woman

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

Investigators

 

** Jannik Schümann – an actor

Searching for information about and traces of 

Rudolf Brazda

** Julia Monroe – a trans activist

Searching for information about and traces of 

Liddy Bacroff

** Kerstin Thost – an LGBT activist

Searching for information about and traces of 

Elli Smula

 

The second group

Interviews with historical experts

 

** Bodie Ashton – a historian – University of Erfurt

** Christian Dirks – a historian

** Anna Hajkova – a historian – Warwick University

** Philipp Osten – a historian

** Ricarda Rogalla – a visitor guide, Ravensbrück Concentration Camp

** Alexander Zinn – a historian

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. 

Archive footage is used to illustrate and support the statements made by the talking heads. 

Archive footage is used when the narrator is speaking.

Old photographs are also used in many cases.

 

The first case

Rudolf Brazda (born 1913) is the only one of the three persons whose story is told here who survived the war. 

 

His life is quite well-documented, not only by contemporary documents, but also with some interviews he made after the war (recorded on video).

 

He lived in a small town in the province where he and his friends were known and tolerated for several years even after the Nazi take over in 1933.

 

But in 1937, the central government told the local administration that homosexual activity was a violation of the law (paragraph 175) and the law had to be enforced.

 

Rudolf was arrested and charged with a crime. He was sent to prison. Having served six months in prison, he was deported to Czechoslovakia, because he was a citizen of this country.

 

He lived in Karlsbad in Sudetenland where he was accepted for a while. But when the Nazis took control of Sudetenland, he was in trouble again.

 

At first, he was arrested and sent to prison. In 1942, he was sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp. He managed to survive the hard life in the camp.

 

After the war, he moved to France where homosexuality was not regarded as a crime. In 2008, when he was an old man, he returned to Germany for a short visit.

 

He travelled to Berlin where he visited the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under Nazism which had been dedicated one month before.

 

He died in August 2011, at the age of 98.

 

The second case

Liddy Bacroff (born 1908) lived in Hamburg in the district of St. Pauli where she was a performer and a sex-worker. 

 

Born as a boy, she felt she was a woman and assumed the name Liddy Bacroff.

 

In 1936, she was arrested and charged with a violation of the law. A trans person (a man who dressed as a woman) was regarded as a homosexual.

 

In 1938, she was released from prison, but before long she was arrested again. Voluntary castration was perhaps a way to avoid another round of prison time.

 

She applied. But the application was denied. She was sent to prison and later to Mauthausen Concentration Camp where she was killed in 1943.

 

The third case

Elli Smula (born 1914) lived in Berlin where she worked as a tram conductor. She faced two charges: she was late for work and she was regarded as a lesbian.

 

She could not be charged for being a lesbian, because the relevant law (paragraph 175) did not say anything about lesbian activity.

 

The Nazis had to find another reason to arrest her. This is why she was charged with being late for work. This was regarded as a crime.

 

Information about her life and her case is limited. We do not even have a photo of her.

 

We know she was interrogated and sent to Ravensbrück Concentration Camp which was established for female prisoners. According to a message sent to her mother, she died in this camp in 1943.

 

After the war

What happened to survivors when World War II ended in 1945?

 

For most people, the end of the war was a relief and a liberation. Prisoners of Nazi concentration camps were released. Jews and political prisoners were no longer persecuted.

 

But members of the LGBT community had no reason to celebrate. 

 

The infamous paragraph 175 was still a part of the law. Homosexuals were still persecuted and arrested, although they were no longer killed.

 

Lesbians were also persecuted, but to a lesser degree, because the odious paragraph 175 did not say anything about lesbian activity.

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

This question is not easy to answer

This film is listed on IMDb, but there is no rating

There are no user reviews.

It is not available on Amazon

There are no customer reviews

 

The story of the persecution of the LGBT community during the time when Hitler and the Nazi Party was in power is important. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. This film is available on the ZDF website until 02 May 2026.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Items available online

 

“Berlin remembers persecuted gays,”

BBC News

27 May 2008

 

“Gay people in Nazi Germany: how hate triumphs,”

Socialist Worker

17 November 2009

 

# 2. Film and video

 

Paragraph 175

A documentary

(2000)

 

Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate

A documentary

(2023)

 

Verbotenes Begehren:

Margarethe und Leonie

(2023)

 

Verbotenes Begehren:

Der Mann mit dem rosa Winkel

(2023)

 

# 3. Books

 

The Pink Triangle:

The Nazi War Against Homosexuals

By Richard Plant

(1986 = hardcover)

(1988 = paperback)

 

The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True Life-and-Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps

By Heinz Heger

(German version 1972)

(English version 1980)

(Reprinted in 2023)

 

Queer Identities and Politics in Germany:

A History, 1880-1945

By Clayton J. Whisnant

(2016)

 

The Story of Sidonie C. - Freud's Famous Case of Female Homosexuality

By Ines Rieder & Kitty Winslet

(2020)

 

Sigmund Freud and his Patient Margarethe Csonka: A Case of Homosexuality in a Woman in Modern Vienna 

By Michal Shapira

(2023)

 

*****

Rudolf Brazda

(1913-2011)

 He was persecuted by the Nazis

He survived prison

He survived the concentration camp

This picture is from 2009

*****

A Stolperstein for Liddy Bacroff 

(1908-1943)

The name Heinrich Habitz,

(written with large letters)

was given to her when she was adopted

by the husband of her mother.

She refused to accept this name and

assumed the name Liddy Bagroff

(which is written with smaller letters).

*****

A Stolperstein for Elli Smula

(1914-1943)

She was denounced and arrested in 1940.

She was sent to Ravensbrück 

 Concentration Camp 

where she died 

in 1943

*****