Annette Eick

As we continue our Pride Month celebration of those who bravely spoke out, today we honor Annette Eick, a Jewish lesbian who escaped Nazi persecution at its height.

Annette grew up in Berlin, where she experienced the freedom of being an out lesbian during the Weimar Republic. But as the Nazis rose to power, that freedom was ripped away. By 1938, she was desperate to escape Germany but couldn't secure the necessary clearance to leave.

Her narrow escape came when she was hiding on a farm sheltering Jewish youth trying to emigrate to Palestine. When the Nazis raided the farm, she fled on her bicycle, barely avoiding capture. As she rode, an unbelievable stroke of luck found her, the postman saw her and called out that he had a love letter for her. It was from Ditt, a lesbian friend she always remembered as looking like Marlene Dietrich. Ditt had escaped to England and secured an immigration permit for Annette.

Shortly after, Annette witnessed the destruction of her parents' store during Kristallnacht. Amidst the ruins, she miraculously found her passport, a small, fateful chance at survival. As she left Germany forever, she saw her parents waving goodbye from a train. They were deported to Auschwitz, where they were murdered.

Annette built a new life in England, where she worked as a writer and nanny, living with her partner, Gertrud Klingel, in Devon, coincidentally where my own dad’s family is from.

Born on September 14, 1909, Annette lived to be 100 years old, passing away on February 25, 2010.

Her story is one of love, survival, and resilience, reminding us that even in the darkest times, hope and fate can defy oppression.