User:W.Hammacher/sandbox

Violins of Hope

The Violins-of-Hope Collection is a private collection of Holocaust related string instruments in Tel Aviv, Israel. The instruments serve to educate and memorialize the lives of prisoners in concentration camps.

History

Amnon Weinstein, a second generation luthier in Tel Aviv started to systematically collect violins and other string instruments in 1996. The Violins-of-Hope Collection now comprises more the 60 instruments. In 2008 Weinstein started to provide his instruments to orchestras for concerts and to organize Holocaust related educational events in connection with the concerts.

Important instruments from the Collection

The Moshe Weinstein Violin

Made by Johann Gottlieb Ficker around 1803

This violin was a lifetime companion of Moshe Weinstein, the first-generation violin maker of the Weinstein family. Born in a shtetl in East Europe, Moshe fell in love with the sound of the violin after watching a klezmer troupe play at a wedding. Soon after, his family gave him his first instrument. He taught himself to play and later studied at the music academy in Vilna, where he met Golda, a pianist. Both immigrated to Palestine in 1938. Before leaving Europe, Moshe Weinstein moved to Warsaw to study string instrument repair with Yaakov Zimmerman. After arriving in Palestine, he first worked in an orchard picking oranges and a year later opened a violin shop in Tel Aviv. Loyal to the tradition of helping out young kids making their first steps in music, he supported many talented Israeli children, among them Shlomo Mintz, Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman and many others.

The Bielski violin

The Bielski violin, a Klezmer fiddle with a mother of pearl Star of David. A German made instrument, probably around 1870. Most Klezmers were self-made and self-taught musicians with a natural talent for music. While many arts were not encouraged by Jewish tradition, music became one of the very few venues available to artists. Most klezmer violins were cheap, made in Czechoslovakia or Germany, in shops that specialized in making ornamented violins. The klezmer tradition was almost lost during WW2, but lately there has been a revival in Europe as well as in Israel and the US. The restoration work of this violin is dedicated to the Bielski partisans who lived, fought and saved 1230 Jews during the war. Assaela Weinstein, Amnon Weinstein’s wife is the daughter of Asael Bielski, one of the three brothers who formed the Bielski brigade in Belarus.

The Berlin Violin / The Gypsy Violin

On January 27, 2015, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra held a concert celebrating the Violins of Hope. Sponsored by Franz-Walter Steinmeier, then the Foreign Minister of Germany and current President of Germany, the occasion marked 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviets. That day the Violins of Hope received an instrument with a unique history. Donated by Sabine Conrad, a young German woman, the violin was given to her many years before by Erich Winkel, an 80-year-old committed communist and a devoted violinist. Sabine took care of Erich, who gave her his beloved violin as a token of gratitude and appreciation. He bought the violin from a Gypsy when he played in the communist youth orchestra. The orchestra used to play in the early ’30s in north Berlin and was often attacked by the Nazis, even before they came to power. Erich was very proud of his instrument, which he said survived many ferocious attacks by Nazi hoodlums. Now it plays in concerts the world over, telling both his personal story and the sad story of that era.

The Zimerman Violin

Yaacov Zimerman worked in Warsaw where he was known to support young violinists such as Michel Schwalbé and Ida Haendel.

The Zimerman violin is remarkable, because it is decorated with five stars of David, four on the upper deck and one on the back. The decorations are made with glue mixed with black powder, usually made to order. The violin was found in very bad condition. The varnish was almost non-existent and it gave the impression of having been played mostly in open air, rain and shine. It was repaired meticulously for a year and a half and now serves as a concert instrument.

The Zimermann-Krongold violin

Shimon Krongold was a wealthy industrialist in Warsaw and an amateur violinist, who ordered a violin from Zimermann. Zimermann made him an instrument with a star of David inlay on the back. Inside the violin he glued a label in Yiddish:

I made this violin for my loyal friend Shimon Krongold. Yaacov Zimermann, Warsaw, 1924.

When the war broke out in 1939, Shimon managed to escape to Russia and ended up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he died of typhus towards the end of the war. A few years later a survivor from Tashkent came to the Krongold family in Jerusalem with the story of his death and a violin in hand. Shimon was the uncle of the Krongolds in Jerusalem, who paid for the violin and kept it in memory of their uncle. It is important to note that before the war Shimon Krongold helped some Jewish prodigal children, among them Michel Swalbe, who used to get music lessons in Krongold's home. Swalbe later became the leading violinist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and remembered Krongold as his benefactor.

The Feivel Wininger violin

Feivel Wininger lived in Romania with his elderly parents, wife and baby daughter, Helen. In October 1941 Feivel and thousands other Jews were deported by train to the swamp land of Transnistria and further into the Ukraine. He ended up in the Ukrainian ghetto of Shargorod , where someone recognized him as the gifted violinist and gave him his valuable Amati violin. He entertained and consoled people in the ghetto with his music and found that he could survive playing music at weddings and holidays in exchange for food and leftovers. Many years later, in Israel, Helen brought in her father's violin to be repaired in the Weinstein's workshop in Tel Aviv, so her father could play again.

Jacob Hakkert violin

This is the first hand-made violin by a famous Dutch Jewish violin maker, Jacob Hakkert (1891 – 1944), who studied in the violin makers' school in Mirecourt, in the north of France. He joined the family business shop in Rotterdam, South Holland, around 1910. Hakkert was an active maker who made violins, violas and cellos. He was also had a reputation for developing and selling good quality strings that were popular among many musicians. Hakkert was deported to Auschwitz where he died on May 22, 1944.

The Haftel violin

made by August Darte in Mirecourt, France around 1870

This violin belonged to Heinrich (“Zvi”) Haftel, the first concert master of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, later to become the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, IPO. Heinrich Haftel was one of about 100 musicians gathered by Bronislav Hubermann all over Europe in 1936 and brought to Palestine. Haftel was a distinguished violinist before he lost his job in a German orchestra. Hubermann's vision to create an all-Jewish orchestra in Mandatory Palenstine saved the lives of many musicians and their family. Haftel's violin is one of the best-preserved pieces in the collection Violins of Hope.

Viola by Carl Zach

Vienna, 1896

This viola belonged to a member of the Palestine Orchestra. Most members of the ensemble were first-rate musicians in European orchestras, who lost their positions when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and racial laws were enforced in Germany.

The Barns Violin

This violin was donated to the project by Ana, Eli and Ben Ehrenpreis. The restoration work is dedicated to the memory of outrageous pogroms conducted by Polish citizens against their neighbors of the Jewish community in a few villages and shtetels throughout Poland. Those atrocities took place in Jedwabne, Radzilow, Szczuczyn and Kolno.

The Auschwitz violin

This instrument was originally owned by an inmate who played in the men's orchestra at the concentration camp in Auschwitz – and survived. Abraham Davidovitz, who fled from Poland to Russia in 1939, later returned to post-war Germany and bought the violin from an inmate in Displaced Persons camp near Munich, where he worked. When his son learned of the Violins-of-Hope project by the Weinsteins, he donated the instrument to be fully restored.

The Friedman Violin

This is a typical story of a Jewish family in Romania. Two sisters, 9 and 11 shared the same violin. Both took music lessons while their mother watched over and made sure they practice every day. During the war, being transported from one place to another, they lost touch with their parents who kept the violin as a token of their talented little girls.

When the war ended the girls were taken by Youth Aliyah (children immigration organization) and sent by boat to Palestine. British police, however, then in control of Palestine, sent the boat and all immigrants to a camp in Cyprus. Months later the sisters were reunited with their parents and the beloved violin when they arrived in Israel with thousands other survivors who were interned in Cyprus until the establishment of the state of Israel in May 15th, 1948.

The Wagner and Weichhold Violin

Both instruments belonged to the members of the Palestine Orchestra created in 1936 by Bronislav Hubermann. They tell the story and history of the musicians who after 1948 became the IPO, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Most members of the IPO were first rated musicians in European orchestras, but lost their positions when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and racial laws were enforced in Germany. When the war ended there was a general boycott of German goods in Israel. So much so that the name "Germany" was boycotted on the radio.

In this atmosphere, musicians refused to play on German made instruments and many came to Moshe Weinstein and asked him to buy their violins. Others threatened to break or burn their instruments. Weinstein bought each and every instrument, as for him - a violin was above war and evil. Yet, he knew he would never be able to sell them.

The Erich Weininger Violin

Erich Weininger was a butcher in Vienna as well as an amateur violinist. When the Nazis marched into Austria in 1938, Erich was arrested and sent to Dachau, where he managed to bring along his violin. He was later sent to Buchenwald, but was released with the help of the Quakers. He returned to Vienna only to be one of the very last jews to escape Nazi Europe. He boarded an illegal boat to Palestine, but was soon arrested by British Police, who did not allow jews to enter the country. Erich was deported to the island of Mauritius, where he stayed until the end of the war. Erich reached Palestine in 1945.

The Abram Merczynski Violin

In August 1944, 21 year old Abram Merczynski was deported together with his brother Isak and Zysman from the Lodz ghetto to Auschwitz and from there to the Dachau concentration camp. They survived. Following a transition period in a Displaced Persons camp after the end to the war, the brothers found lodgings on the upper floor of the house of the Sesar family in Munich's Loichingerstraße. Abrams befriended the 14 year old son of the family and gave him the violin as a parting gift.

Merczynski and his brother Isak emigrated to America in 1955, where he died aged 88. It is not clear whether he played the violin in the camps.

Concerts and Exhibitions

In the first decade of the new millennium, Weinstein started to use the instruments of the Violins of Hope collection to initiate concerts combined with educational events teaching about the Holocaust.

Year	Location and Musicians
2008	Jerusalem, Israel: Symphonette Orchestra and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra with Shlomo Mintz
2010	Switzerland, SION International Music Festival. Exhibition of selected instruments and concert with Shlomo Mintz
2011	Madrid, Spain, concert on occasion of International Remembrance Day with Shlomo Mintz, Cihat Askin, Hillel Zori, Sander Sittig, Enrique Perez and Emilio Navidad Maastricht, Netherlands: concert with Amati Ensemble and photo exhibition
2012	Charlotte, North Carolina: extensive program at the UNC Charlotte with concerts, exhibition, film screenings et al.
2013	Monaco: Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo, conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti, with Schlomo Mintz
2014	Rome, Italy Villa Musica, Neuwied: Exhibition and concerts with Gil Sharon and Elina Gurewitz
2015	Berlin, Germany: Exhibition and concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle Cleveland, Ohio: Exhibitions and concert with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, ongoing project
2016	Monterrey, Mexico: Concert with Esperanza Azteca Orchestra, conducted by Yoel Levi with Shlomo Mintz and Cihat Askin Houston, Texas
2017	Jacksonville, Florida: concert with members of the Jacksonville Symphony, part of a month long Anne Frank exhibit Sarasota, Florida London, England: concert and fundraiser Washington, DC, Library of Congress Bucharest, Romania
2018	Cincinnati, Ohio: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Louis Langrée; The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra conducted by Eckart Preu Dachau, Germany Nashville, Tennessee Dresden, Germany