Strings of Hope: The Meanings of the Violin in Jewish and Holocaust History
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of orchestra music, specifically the violin,
in concentration camps during the era of Nazi rule. What impact did the violin have on
Jewish music and culture prior to Nazi domination? How did the Nazis use instrumental
music to manage of the camps and control the lives of prisoners? How did the music prove to
be a means of defiance against Nazi power? In an era when Nazis stripped Jews of their
belongings, what did simply possessing a musical instrument mean to Jewish musicians?
This study places the violin at the center of Holocaust inquiry and at the intersection of music
history and Jewish history. I examine a broad body of primary sources from autobiographies
to art and oral histories to photographs utilizing textual, material, and visual methods of
analysis.
Table of Contents
Abstract -- List of illustrations -- Strings of hope: the meanings of the violin in Jewish and holocaust history
Degree
M.A.