Walter Arlen

Walter Arlen's story is uniquely special. To my knowledge, he is the oldest subject of my portrait project, having lived to 103 years old, only passing away recently. He is also the only known survivor in this series who lived to witness marriage equality, and, in 2013, he married his partner.

I only learned about Walter last year (2023) through the documentary El Dorado: Everything the Nazis Hate, where he was interviewed. I was shocked to discover that someone directly impacted by the Nazi persecution of queer people was still alive. Until then, I had believed that every survivor I had researched was long gone. I had wanted to reach out to him, but life got in the way, and by the time I planned to, it was too late. Walter had passed. I deeply regret not acting sooner, and I urge anyone reading this: don’t put off the things that matter to you.

Walter was born on July 31, 1920 and was a musical prodigy, studying music and composition from the age of five. In the 1930s, his family’s store was seized by the Nazis, and his father was sent to Dachau. Amid the growing persecution, Walter fell in love with a Hungarian Jewish boy named Fülöp Loránt, whom he affectionately called “Lumpi.”

As the Nazi grip tightened, Lumpi sent Walter a desperate letter:

“We have no close family or friends, besides you. The Nazis are ever-present everywhere, and I am very scared. Can you help us somehow? If you go, can you take me with you?”

Walter managed to escape to America in 1939, but he spent nearly his entire life never knowing what became of Lumpi. He was finally able to see Lumpi's grave during the production of the film, hopefully giving him some closure.