Germany&#39;s Third Reich committed atrocities that are still being uncovered today, 90 years after Hitler&#39;s ascension to chancellor of the Weimar Republic. One of those many atrocities was the Nazi war on Homosexuality, wherein approximately 100,000 men were arrested for being Homosexual, many of which were murdered in Hitler&#39;s infamous Concentration Camps. For those that survived, the death camps were just the beginning of the persecution. Root &amp; Branch chronicles some of the only survivor stories currently known, framing them within the discourse and rhetoric that made it possible for an event like the Holocaust to take place.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/8/1/16/bfdb1cfb-0212-4166-8f0c-e0351388e599_rootandbranchep3_part_3.mp3

In his essay titled “The Concept of Resistance: Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust” Professor of Philosophy Roger S. Gottlieb highlights three crucial parts of what might be considered a resistant event. For there to be resistance there must first be something to resist against. Gottlieb states that resistance is “typically the act of an already conquered or defeated people,” meaning in any given scenario or event there is an inherent control that has been employed from one group over another. The second signifier for resistance is the intention of the oppressed to “thwart, limit, or end the exercise of power” that has created the struggle between the two groups. Lastly—and most importantly—”resistors must hold at least two sorts of beliefs. 1. “These beliefs are essential to the oppressed recognizing that a part of themselves can be threatened, dominated or destroyed in the relationship of oppression.” 2. the oppressed must have beliefs “concerning the manner in which the oppressing group is exercising its domination, about how the assault on their identity is being conducted.” Using Gottlieb’s three guiding principles, we can see how the actions of Gad Beck, his family, and his underground connections also possess all three parts of a resistant event. But while some of these acts of resistance would lead to the liberation and freedom of numerous Jews, many acts of resistance—as well as the network of the underground connections themselves—would begin to fall apart in the closing months of the war. And not even the bright and sunny disposition of Gad Beck would be able to outrun the gnashing teeth of the German war machine or the Soviet Union’s encroaching Red Army.

Inside & Underground (Pt. 3)

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/8/1/16/ccd6e631-b410-4511-8323-b361c5cd2d6f_root_and_branch_ep_3_part_2.mp3

One might expect when the Nazi atrocities waged against Jewish life in Berlin began to take deadly turns, Jews would then begin to renounce their faith in droves; however, Hitler&#39;s violence bolstered Zionist Jewish faith, as well as the creation and cultivation of hachsharas—Zionist training centers to prepare Jews for their migration back to the homeland of Israel, also known as their aliyah. Though Gad Beck would follow suit and attend a hachshara with the goal of completing his aliyah, fate had other plans, wherein he would be forced back into the Nazi epicenter of Berlin. From the embrace of his aliyah, to the disappointment of its incompleteness, the twists and turns of fate placed Gad back into a Zionist embrace. And this time, that embrace would lead to love and an imminent life underground.

Inside & Underground (Pt. 2)

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/7/17/3/69d9fda4-646f-4364-9a65-e5227739ea6d_root_and_branch_ep_3_part_1__1_.mp3

Far removed from the insidious prison camp of Schirmeck begins the heroic tale of Gad Beck who grew up within the very epicenter of the second World War: Berlin. What follows is the story of a proud, flamboyant, and fearless boy who carried not only the title of Homosexual, but also that of a mischling, or half-breed (being half Christian and half Jewish). As the war ravaged, and Hitler turned his attention to the east, a secret, covert operation was being set against him within the underground resistance movements of Berlin.

Inside & Underground (Pt.1)

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/7/16/17/0b286b5e-0643-4cab-9cc1-efc60ff4a6bf_rootandbranchep2.part3.mp3

The havoc wreaked by the Third Reich continued well past the demise of the Nazis. As the years grew further apart from his &#34;liberation,&#34; Pierre faces not only the war for his Identity, but also the war for his life. Uncertainty, alcoholism, and attempts to stifle and silence Gay survivor stories are just a few of the battles ahead. But to know a witness is to be a witness, and Pierre will be the witness thrust upon the world stage to galvanize a public movement of remembrance and a ruthless battle for reparations.

The Stolen Watch, The Silent Devouring (Pt. 3)

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/4/30/22/b8cb4f96-1268-4a40-9664-c1dc3359e2ab_rootandbranchep2.part2.mp3

Robbed of the possibility of his own Identity, Pierre travels beyond the walls of Schirmeck Prison Camp to find freedom and global sympathizing is allotted to Holocaust survivors &amp; victims. But not Homosexual Holocaust survivors &amp; victims.

The Stolen Watch, The Silent Devouring (Pt. 2)

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/4/17/0/6a131dba-4e54-4a0f-8a5e-c0a4fff0eabc_rootandbranchep2.part1.mp3

A stroke of circumstance—or fate—puts 15-year-old Pierre Seel into the hands of a thief. Three years later and the German Gestapo are knocking on his door. What follows can only be imagined by others, but for Pierre was a personal hell, a monstrous repression, the murder of love, and the loss of his Identity; all of which he suffered in a devouring silence.

The Stolen Watch, The Silent Devouring (Pt. 1)

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2023/4/16/23/281a3483-a105-434e-8535-4d7ad8215b53_rootandbranchep1.mp3

<h3>1920-1934</h3><h3>Considered the greatest genocide in history by death toll, the Holocaust is an event unique not only in its numbers, but also in its growth from the desire for more conservative values to the eventual annihilation of over 10 million people. Retrace the people, events, and sinister circumstances that gave way to the systematic, state sanctioned murder of groups like Jews, Gypsies, and Jehovah&#39;s Witnesses, and Homosexuals.</h3>

A Deadly Discourse Takes Shape

Germany's Third Reich committed atrocities that are still being uncovered today, 90 years after Hitler's ascension to chancellor of the Weimar Republic. One of those many atrocities was the Nazi war on Homosexuality, wherein approximately 100,000 men were arrested for being Homosexual, many of which were murdered in Hitler's infamous Concentration Camps. For those that survived, the death camps were just the beginning of the persecution. Root & Branch chronicles some of the only survivor stories currently known, framing them within the discourse and rhetoric that made it possible for an event like the Holocaust to take place.