Here’s the conclusion of my talk about “Violins of Hope” a book about violins that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust.

Watch me speak about the orchestras in Auschwitz.

Watch me tell the amazing story of Motele Schlein, a 12-year-old partisan who blew up a Nazi Soldiers Club using explosives he had hidden inside his violin case.

Watch me speak about Ernst Glaser, the Jewish concertmaster of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra who used his musical influence to escape a Nazi riot during a concert in Bergen in 1941.

Watch me speak about Amnon Weinstein, the Israeli violinmaker who has spent the past two decades locating and restoring the Violins of Hope.

Watch me read from the conclusion of Violins of Hope. The conclusion touches on themes that were first introduced in the book’s prologue.

Watch me read about Shimon Krongold’s Violin, which along with a pre-war picture of Shimon holding the instrument is the only item of Shimon’s legacy that survived the Holocaust.

Watch me read excerpts from the sixth chapter of Violins of Hope. Chapter 6 discusses the amazing story of Motele Schlein, a 12-year-old Jewish partisan who blew up a Nazi Soldiers Club using explosives he had hidden inside his violin case.

Watch me introduce a performance of “My Yiddishe Momme.” This was one of several Jewish melodies that violinist Feivel Wininger played in the ghettoized Romanian territory of Transnistria during the Holocaust to bring comfort to himself as well as to his friends and family members.

Watch me read excerpts from the fifth chapter of Violins of Hope. Chapter 5 discusses Feivel Wininger, who was able to spare sixteen family members and friends from starvation by playing the violin during the Holocaust.