From William Chafe’s interview on Booknotes:

“[Another] secret that [Allard Lowenstein was] dealing with is the fact that he discovers -- says in his diary when he's 14 years old that he doesn't know how to deal with the fact that he has these very strong impulses -- sexual impulses toward young men. We're talking about 1943, a period of time in our history when there is no cultural sanction, no space, no room for talking about sexual impulses and ambivalences; no room for support for people who may have homosexual impulses. And so he says at that point, “The only way I think I can deal with this is to make good friends, to make best friends.” And that's how he does choose to deal with it.“