2023 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Memoir/Biography
"Makes the case that we should consider Gerber not an asterisk, but a forefather of the gay-rights movement-one who would influence later generations of activists."-The Atlantic
Born in 1892 in Germany, Henry Gerber was expelled from school as a boy and lost several jobs as a young man because of his homosexual activities. He emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the army for employment. After his release, he explored Chicago-s gay subculture: cruising Bughouse Square, getting arrested for -disorderly conduct,- and falling in love. He was institutionalized for being gay, branded an -enemy alien- at the end of World War I, and given a choice: to rejoin the army or be imprisoned in a federal penitentiary.
Gerber re-enlisted and was sent to Germany in 1920. In Berlin, he discovered a vibrant gay rights movement, which made him vow to advocate for the rights of gay
