The Violinist of Auschwitz by Jean-Jacques Felstein - #BookReview

 

Cologne, summer 1958

The sky is grey, streaked with mustard yellow. It's the colour of my nightmares. It is a nightmare. There are thousands of us huddled, naked and crowded against each other on an esplanade with no limits. Although out in the open air, a continuous wail among thousands of cries seems to be reflected by the polished wall of a huge bathroom...

***

Arrested in 1943 and deported to Auschwitz, Elsa survived because she had the 'opportunity' to join the women's orchestra. But Elsa kept her story a secret, even from her own family. Indeed, her son would only discover what had happened to his mother many years later, after gradually unearthing her unbelievable story following her premature death, without ever having revealed her secret to anyone.

Jean-Jacques Felstein was determined to reconstruct Elsa's life in Birkenau, and would go in search of other orchestra survivors in Germany, Belgium, Poland, Israel and the United States. The recollections of Hélène, first violin, Violette, third violin, Anita, a cellist, and other musicians, allowed him to rediscover his 20-year-old mother, lost in the heart of hell.

The story unfolds in two intersecting stages: one, contemporary, is that of the investigation, the other is that of Auschwitz and its unimaginable daily life, as told by the musicians. They describe the recitals on which their very survival depended, the incessant rehearsals, the departure in the mornings for the forced labourers to the rhythm of the instruments, the Sunday concerts, and how Mengele pointed out the pieces in the repertoire he wished to listen to in between 'selections'.

In this remarkable book, Jean-Jacques Felstein follows in his mother's footsteps and by telling her story, attempts to free her, and himself, from the pain that had been hidden in their family for so long.

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Those of you who have been following my blog prior to today will know that I do not rate or review non-fiction accounts of the Holocaust. As a reviewer, I am unwilling to compare the accounts of survivors testaments. Who am I to judge one account against another and what on earth would be the criteria?

Instead, I prefer to spotlight a book; to bring it to your attention rather than judge it in any way.

As there are now fewer and fewer survivors alive to give their account, it is unsurprising attention is now shifting to the children of those who have now passed away. This is one such example and has been written by the son of a woman who survived because she was part of an orchestra in the concentration camps.

Elsa found relationships difficult and was emotionally detached from her son. Following her death, he decided to track down others who were in the same situation, those who survived by being part of this bizarre orchestra and who remember his mother. (although not all do.)

Through this, he is able to build a picture of his mother. To construct her narrative that was always hidden from him during her lifetime and to find a way to lead to his understanding of her.

This is a book that is well worth reading and I would be extremely interested to hear your thoughts.

ISBN: 978 1399002813

Publisher: Pen & Sword

About the Author: 

Jean-Jacques Felstein was born in 1948 and began his studies at Nanterre in 1968. He achieved a diploma in specialist education in 1976, followed by a degree in English and a diploma in languages and communication sciences. He worked in education for twenty-three years, before becoming the department head in a child protection unit at the Seine-Saint-Denis General Council. Here he acquired expert knowledge on concepts such as heritage, parentage, abuse, and incest. During these years, he practised music and played guitar in a hard rock group, performing in numerous concerts. He died in Paris in 2015, following a long illness.

(book received courtesy of Net Galley)