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Alma Ros Alma Ros was born in 1906 into a very famous family at the turn of the 19 th century Vienna - father Arnold was the esteemed concert- master of the Vienna Philharmonic while mother Justine Mahler was the sister of Gustav Mahler, the famous composer.

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Alma subsequently became a celebrated violinist in her own right. In 1932 she founded the womans orchestra Die Wiener Walzermdeln (The Waltzing Girls of Vienna). She led as conductor-soloist in concert tours throughout Europe. They disbanded when Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938.

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At the outbreak of WWII, life gradually became difficult and dangerous for the Jews in Vienna, but Alma was fortunate to emigrate successfully with her father to London.

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Unfortunately, she needed money to support him in his forced retirement, so accepted recital work in Holland, then a seemingly safe neutral country. After two years there, the Nazis invaded and she was forced to flee. Her luck ran out-she was captured and sent first to Drancy, then on to Auschwitz Concentration camp.

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Alma Ros was originally held in the dreaded Block 10 - the medical experiments unit - but when it was discovered that she was a famous violinist she was put in charge of the Women's Orchestra. Photo:Stephan van der Hoorn

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. The orchestra contained an odd mix of instruments. In the concert dedicated to her by the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, the first part of Beethovens 5 th symphony was played by the orchestra and mandolins. It is said that this is how Alma and her orchestra used to play this piece of music.

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During her 10 months as conductor none of her musicians were gassed or died from other causes, almost a miracle in that hellish environment.

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Alma died on 4.4.44 probably from food poisoning. She was 37. In a bizarre twist, one of the doctors who tried to save her was Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death himself. Author: C.Puisney

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( The Women's Orchestra continued to receive relatively preferential treatment until September 1944, when they were evacuated to the Bergen-Belsen camp; all but two of Ros's players lived to see the end of the war.

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Richard Newman's biography "Alma Ros: Vienna to Auschwitz" (2000)

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My Fathers Violin By Helen Wininger Livnat In remembrance of the SHOA, the Holocaust To play the violin- Your eyes bursting with tears Across the worst of pains.

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The sane world is dying in front of you But you cant save the doomed.

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Helen To play with your murdered dead around you And your baby daughter has no food left. To play in front of your joyous enemies. To be rewarded by peels from the trash And a quarter loaf of black bread.

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All this will never happen to us! The Holocaust happened one too many times

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But No one will expel us No one will burn us In any country in the world Because I have my own country now. Translated from Hebrew/Ruthie Artman-Breindler

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Feivel Wininger loved his violin passionately, 'my best friend' he called it. Until the day of his death in 2002, he enjoyed playing the simple violin that saved his life.

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My Dad's violin is still alive, playing and telling the story. Special concerts are taking place in North Carolina U.S in these very days. Artists are playing on Violins of Hope , violins that rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Our representative there is my father, Feivel Winningers violin. With his violin and his musical talent, he fed 17 family members and friends for two hellish years in the camps in Transnistria. The 'old' fiddle, a simple violin, just over a hundred years old - goes on telling a huge story of love, life on the edge of death and is taking the story to the whole world. A couple of years ago he played at the Wailing Wall in front of 3000 people, then in Switzerland. He has been playing and telling the story that my father, Rest in Peace, can not do anymore.The sounds are crying and they are tired, but they will never stop telling the story. The violin, that my father called 'friend' is alive and is a messenger to the world instead of the crying of all those people whose cries will never be heard. May their memory be blessed!

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http://www.violinsofhopecharlotte.com/stories.html http://nineronline.com/2012/violins-of-hope-brings- holocausts-history-to-charlotte Music : Robert Schumann, "Trumerei Poem : Helen Wininger Livnat, writer Photos : Personal From the net credit to their owners Info : Wikipedia The presentation shown at the concert of the Raanana orchestra April 19, 2012 Holocaust The glass museum, Arad,Israel