Breakaway Books

Authored by Milo Todd; Published April 2025; Historical Fiction

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Woof. The Lilac People is a shock to the system. The tragedy of how trans people were treated in the aftermath of World War II, just how deplorably the Americans acted, and the disturbing resonance with today makes it a tough one to forget.

The Lilac People tells the story of Bertie and Sofie, a couple living in the German countryside as World War II ends. But for Bertie, a trans man, the fear is far from over. As the Allies take control of Germany, the Americans track down the LGBTQ population and insist on imposing the prescribed German punishment: imprisonment. As Bertie and Sofie conspire to escape from Germany and the Allies, another trans man escapes to their farm, barely alive, from the Dachau camp. The three of them must figure out how to abscond without drawing any more attention from their American overseers.

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a WWII novel that paints the Americans in such a poor light. Unfortunately, I’ve no doubt that it’s fully accurate as well, but it still broke my heart to see them (well, us) as the villains. And yet, the picture is more complex than that: When Bertie dreams of escaping, it is America to which he longs to go. This paradox is one of the subjects upon which he meditates—that he must run from his American “saviors” in order to reach the hoped safe haven of their homeland. Strangely, on this haphazard journey, it is a Nazi officer who ensures their escape, another toppling of the expected order of friends and enemies. This last causes no end of confusion and wariness from Bertie, who knows that if his true identity is discovered by his “ally,” then his journey will immediately come to an end. All of it added together to make me feel desperately hopeless about how poorly humanity treats those they don’t understand. 

Interspersed with Bertie and Sofie’s escape from Germany are excerpts of Bertie’s community’s life before the war. What Bertie remembers most, and what he wished he could hold on to, is their joy, and the music that expresses it. To me, this seems like such a relatable, universal desire: to be joyful with the people we love. It is inexpressibly sad that even after losing all of his companions, Bertie has to burn even the mementos of that time to protect himself. He and the escapee from Dachau, Karl, are constantly reminding each other that they must continue to survive, and to hope that one day, they would be joyful again.  

The Lilac People is not a novel to escape with. It’s a novel to be read in the hope that we remember this history, and that we do not repeat it.