Hope in the Dark: How a Daring Team of Sexologists Built the World’s First Trans Clinic in the Shadow of the Third Reich

Set in interwar Berlin, Brandy Schillace’s book The Intermediaries tells the story of the Institute for Sexual Science, the world’s first center for homosexual and transgender rights. Headed by a gay Jewish man, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, the institute aided in the first gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments, acting as a rebellious base of operations in the face of rising prejudice, nationalism, and Nazi propaganda. A history of science and of politics, it also tells the story of the unsinkable Dora Richter, the first person to undergo modern gender affirmation surgery. Dr. Schillace will bring these stories to life, demonstrating the resilience of the LGBTQ community and offering hope in dark times.

Dr Brandy Schillace (skil-AH-chay) is a historian, novelist, and television show host. Formerly an editor for two journals, Brandy works as a freelance journalist as well as a writer of nonfiction and fiction. Brandy has written about death and dying, Cold War medicine, bioethics, and organ transplant and the history of accidents. Her most recent book, THE INTERMEDIARIES, tells the forgotten, daring history of trans activists, gender affirming surgeries, and the fight for LGBTQ rights in the shadow of the Third Reich. Please visit Brandy’s website for more information.

All welcome! Please come along if you are interested in the topic.

Convenors: Carsten Timmermann and Jackie Stacey