Former indexer Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon may have left his job at the USC Shoah Foundation last year, but what he learned working with the Institute has had a lasting impact.

What makes Gad Beck’s story so remarkable, however, was that not only was he a “Mischling” but he was also a gay teenager living in Nazi Berlin, the epicenter of a military power antagonistic to both Jews and gays.

In this clip, Gad Beck recalls the day he ran in to tell his mother that he "had his first man" and her surprising reaction. It is a sweet story of family acceptance and support.

Gad Beck recalls how the Gentile women in Berlin, including his aunts, came en masse to Rosenstraße in order to protest for the release of the Jewish men detained by the Nazis for deportation to the concentration camps. Gad and his father were among the detainees arrested during the Fabrikaktion.

Capping off months of preparation, study and travel, the first group of USC Shoah Foundation Junior Interns returned to the Institute’s office in May to present their final thoughts on their participation in Auschwitz: The Past is Present program.

Martin Aaron reflects on the importance of sharing his experience of the Holocaust even though it is very difficult.