The Nazi Era: Episode 8: Lucy Salani

Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

Making Gay History

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4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

Lucy Salani was assigned male at birth, so when she came of age she was conscripted into the Italian army. She soon deserted—the first of several daring escapes that eventually landed her in Dachau. She’s one of the only trans people to testify about their experiences in Nazi concentration camps. Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community. ——— Lucy Salani interview footage courtesy of Matteo Botrugno and Daniele Coluccini, directors of the 2021 documentary C'è un soffio di vita soltanto (A Breath of Life). The film was produced and released in Italy by Blue Mirror and Kimerafilm and distributed internationally by True Colours. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Making Gay History Family. Eric here. Thank you to all of you who helped us match the recent $25,000 challenge grant we were lucky to be offered. We couldn't have done it without you. But we are scrambling. Like many organizations, we've been affected by the new administration. We recently lost a major grant from one of our funding partners
0:23.6	who've had to redirect their resources in response to the new regime.
0:27.6	So, while I've just finished asking you for financial support,
0:31.6	here I am asking again.
0:33.6	Any amount is appreciated, so we can keep bringing LGBTQ history to life through the voices of the people who lived it.
0:40.7	That's all the people who lived it.
0:44.5	You can make a tax-deductible donation at making gayhistory.org slash donate.
0:49.4	That's making gay history.org slash donate.
0:53.3	Thanks so much. When I was young, it was all a party then, for morning, tonight, laughing, laughing, and just having fun.
1:21.1	We didn't think of anything else.
1:24.8	It's 2019.
1:27.1	Lucy Salani is 95 years old. She's in her bedroom in Bologna, Italy, showing off the
1:34.2	wardrobe from her 1950s cabaret act. She reaches into the closet for a sequin jacket with an
1:40.6	ostrich feather collar, pulls it on over her z zippered sweatshirt, and briefly strikes a pose.
1:47.0	Now I'll show you the last dress I wore on stage.
2:04.0	This one I used to wear when I did my act.
2:05.3	This one here.
2:07.4	This is the dress.
2:14.7	This one reminds me of the last number I did in this dress.
2:17.6	I did a beautiful number in this.
2:19.6	I played the miss.
2:21.4	It was gorgeous.
	...

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