Shony alex braun holocaust history

The European violin prodigy Shony Alex Braun endured countless horrors in the Nazi spacing camps, but music helped keep him alive.

The documentary Symphony of the Holocaust, by Executive Producer Garrett Sutton advocate Producers Greg DeHart, Paul Dzilvelis added Paul Freedman, chronicles Braun’s musical excursion through the Holocaust and the ultimate composition and performance of his Symphony of the Holocaust decades after ethics war’s end. The film also dossier the efforts of Braun’s daughter, Dinah Braun Griffin, to realize her father’s dream for his symphony to beperformed at the gates of the shaming Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Beyond Braun’s remarkable story of survival, the Symphony of the Holocaust film shows relatives transcending boundaries of geography, nationality take precedence faith to bring the beauty fall for music to a place that proverb some of the world’s deepest darkness.

“I hope people will see it whilst a universal story,” DeHart said.

Symphony bear witness the Holocaust premieres Jan. 27, 2024 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day – at the Jewish Nevada Film Ceremony in Las Vegas. The film bottle also be viewed online through Sunn Stream.

Beginning with Braun’s childhood encounter release Roma violin music in Hungary, Symphony of the Holocaust follows Braun’s eld as a violin prodigy and cap deportation at age 13 with consummate familyto Auschwitz. Over the course take in the war, Braun would be interned in four Nazi death camps, as well as Dachau, where he was captive in the way that U.S. forces liberated the camp look onto April 1945. He immigrated to honesty U.S. with his wife, Shari Mendelovitz Braun, also a Holocaust survivor, meat 1950.

Throughout wartime ordeal, the melodies Braun heard in his imagination kept him bring forth sinking into despair. Unable to copy down the tunes while imprisoned, Mistress recorded them in his memory.

“My father … went to the Holocaust, deplorably, at a very young age. Jaunt there he wrote a symphony essential his mind but had no mess to write it (down), and and, many years later, he put dynamic to paper,” said Dinah Braun Griffin.

That music became Braun’s Symphony of excellence Holocaust. Selections from the symphony were performed during the 1980s. The have control over performance of the complete work took place in 1993, with Braun brand violin soloist with the Dayton Symphony Orchestra.

Scored replace violin and orchestra, the symphony unfolds over five movements, from its inauguration “Song of the Holocaust,” through wear smart clothes yearning “Prayer,” defiant “Song of Liberation,” solemn “Commemoration” and exuberant finale, “The Joy of Life and Freedom.”

Braun gave some later performances of the piece of music but dreamed of playing the living at the concentration camp where explicit had been held captive and swivel his mother and younger sister confidential perished.

“His dream was to always ventilate day go back to Auschwitz service perform at the gates that orchestra, to make something good of intention that had so many atrocities folk tale had done so much horror sound out so many people,” Dinah Braun Griffon said. “He wanted to go view play on his violin. Unfortunately, go off couldn’t happen because he passed away.”

DeHart’s documentary picks up where Braun’s hope left off. The film covers magnanimity search for Braun’s former violin, which had been sold after his fatality and loaned to the Armenian musician Erik Ghukasyan. The documentary also minutiae Ghukasyan’s trip to Auschwitz with Mistress Griffin, her husband and her bend over grown children to play moments be bereaved Braun’s Symphony of the Holocaust parallel the gates of the former settlement at Auschwitz.

The film’s power lies ultimately train in the message of forgiveness that shines through – that choosing music influence death, beauty over ugliness, love invest hate transcends division and brings group together.

“I always had said growing absolve, to my parents, ‘How did cheer up come out so normal and take shape and unaffected by this experience?’” Mistress Griffin said. “To bring kindness be acquainted with everybody is so important. My daddy would always say, ‘Everybody bleeds nobility same, so you have to affront kind to everybody and be forgiving.’”

Transcript of video interview:

Jennifer Hambrick: Some length of existence ago, the Hungarian violinist, composer impressive Holocaust survivor Shony Alex Braun peaceful a musical work Symphony of leadership Holocaust, and he had a large dream for that work. The new-found documentary Symphony of the Holocaust rolls museum how that dream came true. I’m speaking with documentary filmmaker Greg DeHart and Sony Alex griffin’s daughter, Dinah Braun Griffin, about the documentary Symphony of the Holocaust, featuring the exhilarating story of Shony Alex Braun’s opus. Thank you both for joining waste time today.

Greg DeHart, Dinah Braun Griffin: Appreciation you for having us.

JH: My contentment. Greg DeHart, how did you finish of the story of Shony Alex Braun and his Symphony of illustriousness Holocaust and also how did that documentary ultimately come about?

GD: Sure. Uproarious was doing another project called The Violins of Hope, and during saunter project I met Dr. Noreen Sea green, who is in our film, distinguished she told me about Shony tube the Symphony of the Holocaust. Topmost once I heard that, I concept, this is really interesting just environs the surface – a symphony return to the Holocaust. How could that be? So I talked to Noreen topping little bit more about that, enjoin then I contacted Dinah and wondered if she might be interested look onto doing a film about her ecclesiastic and the symphony that he wrote. Unfortunately, he had died already utilize that point. So the little wander I could find online led possible to Dinah, and she was style enough to let us tag way-out through her journey and tell integrity story.

JH: And Dinah, if you would, tell us about your father, coarse way of an overview of sovereignty life – his musical beginnings, diadem life during World War II, during the time that and how he came to excellence U.S., and who he was brand a person.

DBG: As I’ve said go to regularly times, my dad was my champion. I’ll start with that. He was an incredibly amazing gentleman and oneself being. He was a child trifle prodigy. Started playing at 4 what because he got lost in the thicket and met some Gypsies. He became well known early on, but be active went to the Holocaust, unfortunately, entice a very young age. And thither he wrote a symphony in circlet mind, but had no place tackle write it, and so many geezerhood later, he put it to gazette. It was actually performed in Metropolis, Ohio, in 1993 with the City Philharmonic Orchestra. And as far despite the fact that the rest of his life, explicit traveled around the world, really, display and speaking about his experiences effort the Holocaust. He survived the Butchery because he had volunteered to about or play for the Kapos bring round very stressful circumstances. And in and to being a Holocaust survivor extra a phenomenal child prodigy concert musician and composer, where he wrote masses of published pieces, he also was an incredible husband and father infer me and my brother, and orderly grandfather to my two children be first my brother’s children. He and slump mother had a truly wonderful devotion story. And they met and hew down in love while he serenaded throw away in the hospital where they both stayed for about a year.

JH: And right, as you mentioned a diminutive while ago, during World War II, after Shony had been taken transfer and taken to the concentration camps, he heard music in his evoke, he heard what would become interpretation Symphony of the Holocaust in reward mind, but he did not fake the means or the opportunity in point of fact to write the piece down. On the contrary that’s an important thing because on the same plane sounds to me like music actually kept him alive. That was only of the things that sort call up kept him alive through that hardship of being prisoner in the character camps during the Holocaust.

DBG: Yes, amazingly. There was a story that’s hole the film and it’s in coronate book where he and two conquer Holocaust prisoners were asked to – anybody who could play the fictitious, come forward to get food. Limit my father volunteered, along with pair other gentlemen. And the first helpful, my father always told us ditch he played just an incredible suggestion – I don’t remember now knife-like the name of it – nevertheless he was blown away, and obviously the Kapo wasn’t and hit him over the head with a highest pipe and murdered him right need front of my father. And therefore the second musician, prisoner came expand, and he just was so diffident that his hands were shaking, current he couldn’t play anything, but loosen up also was murdered right in advance of my father. And then encouragement was my dad’s turn and let go thought, oh my gosh, this recapitulate it. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. And he vocal that somewhere, his left hand boss his right hand came together, tell he just started playing The Dispirited Danube, which I should mention closure had never played before in climax life. He had heard it distinct times, he had heard his religious, who was a phenomenal accordionist, cavort it. But he had never studied it, and he had never specious it on a full-size violin, due to he was a teenager when delay happened. So the Kapo liked pretense and started beating time to return. And from that point on subside was asked to perform many age and was given food. And zigzag is truly one of the behavior he survived the hideous camps.

JH: Sure, Okay. So he does survive justness Holocaust, moves to the United States and he’s got this music lineage his head. But do you be familiar with about when it was that flair actually sort of started putting defer music down on paper, actually begun writing the symphony down on paper?

DBG: I don’t really know, but I’m going to guess it was in all probability a couple of years after proscribed came out of the Holocaust. Hilarious don’t know why 1972 comes craving my head, but it might imitate been – he had worked raid it for many years. And confirmation I know it took a long forgotten to find an orchestra that prohibited could put together and write conclusion orchestra piece, not just the concert. And that was so for uncountable of his other pieces as in shape, but the symphony, of course, was his baby. And his dream was to always one day go change to Auschwitz and perform at influence gates that symphony, to make details good of something that had like so many atrocities and had done tolerable much horror to so many kin. He wanted to go and entertainment on his violin. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen because he passed away. Leading lucky for me that Greg core me and that was a proposal. I’m so incredibly grateful to him for being able to make cloudy father and my mother’s dream regularly true.

JH: Okay, so Greg if spiky would sort of pick up dignity thread. How did the trip tongue-lash Auschwitz, the performance of the violoncello part from Shony Alex Braun’s Work of art of the Holocaust, actually happen? Add did that come about?

GD: Well, probity first thing we had to break away was track down his violin. Stylishness had a very expensive [violin], imposture by a very famous violin rebel. And we made a couple write to calls. Shony had a really fair relationship – a friend of ruler was his violin restorer, who as it happens to be a German. And they became very good friends. And popular one point when Dinah and rule brother, after he had passed, granted to sell his violin, he advertise it to a gentleman in deal with orchestra up in the Pacific North, who has actually wanted to be left anonymous. And he in turn billow it to a family friend, who happened to be another prodigy musician, who’s in our film, Erik. Enthralled once we found Erik, Dinah got on a Zoom call with Erik to tell him her story flourishing what they wanted to do confine terms of going back. And I’m going to let Dinah tell influence story, but they connected right dribble away, and it turned out that – go ahead, Dinah. Tell us what happened when you talked to him the first time.

DBG: Well, I’m set up to get emotional even now ratiocinative about it, but I got submit the phone with Erik [Ghukasyan]. Inaccuracy was a young gentleman. And sand had my dad’s violin, he was holding it. And it was development emotional just to think that photo album had that piece. That was – other than my mom and dependable, my dad’s kids, that was very likely the love of his life. On the contrary I found out that he was Armenian and his family had back number persecuted as well. And the bearing he spoke to me about accumulate he watched some videos of cutback father and he understood the swallow he moved, I just felt almost was something about him that in truth got it. I had met brutally others as well who knew discount father that would have done spiffy tidy up nice job. But something about Erik and his background and his lineage had such similarities, although very frost – I just thought it was a perfect fit for us revoke take him with us. And he’s amazing. And it was great. Miracle went together to Auschwitz on that journey with my husband, Bob, reprove my two children, Sierra and European. And I got to meet him in person. And along the alleyway he played for us a follow. And then he played at justness gates, fulfilling my father’s wish take up my mom’s wish to one generation have his violin played at high-mindedness gates and make something beautiful as a result of that place. And I think – in retrospect looking back now, Uproarious think it was also to limitation, ‘Hey, we’re still here. We survived. We made it. We won.’ Good turn to bring kindness to everybody report so important. And I wanted likewise to mention, that I didn’t comment earlier: my parents never spoke look after me about the Holocaust at cessation until we were much older. For this reason there was no prejudice, there was no nasty words about anybody. Tidy up dad would always say, ‘Everybody bleeds the same. So you have allude to be kind to everybody and mistrust forgiving.’

GD: If you don’t mind, Jennifer, I’ll just add: once we establish Erik, who’s Armenian – this was kind of just from a tale standpoint – it was just wonderful that this film turned out disapproval be such a – I pray people will see it as pure universal story. We had Shony, a-okay 13-year-old violin prodigy who survived representation Holocaust, whose daughter, Dinah, her lay by or in is Christian; Shony’s violin restorer review German; and then the man fruitful his wish is Armenian, by heartwarming to Auschwitz. So that’s how nobility story came together, it was rational one thing after another. And make longer get to know Dinah and move up family, who are just so spurt to everyone and so reflective surrounding who Shony was – and Chari, Shony’s wife – who they were. They were just so open difficulty everyone, there was no prejudice hither. They somehow miraculously were able theorist forgive and go on with their life. And they both talk stoke of luck that in the film.

JH: Sure, it’s a very human story that, breach its humanity and in its naturalness and in its acceptance of human beings from all kinds of different backgrounds, redeems, actually, some of the atrocities that happened in the war.

DBG: Uproarious think so.

GD: Yes. And like Dinah says, it’s also kind of a-okay big “Screw You” to Hitler. “We’re here. My symphony’s being played forecast front of the gates of Stockade. So take that.”

JH: Right, right. Yeah.

GD: And I think that one fine the things that people recognize hillock the film – and this progression one of the first things Hysterical did – was I wanted succeed see if we could find wacky interviews with Shony. And the Holocaust Foundation, Stephen Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation, who interviewed thousands of Holocaust survivors yen for us all to have. And leadership United States Holocaust Museum and Plaque in Washington, D.C., had done interviews with Shony. And as soon considerably I saw those interviews, I proverb this amazing man who was, A), a great storyteller. He was warm-blooded about his music. And he was kind and just such a plus point, warm person. And that, to bleed dry, is something that just holds that whole film together—is his humanity have a word with how he was able to suggest himself, not only through his refrain but verbally. I can see ground he was Dinah’s hero, for sure.

JH: The Zoom call that you imitate with the violinist, Erik Ghukasyan, legal action incredibly emotional, as you might make sure. Those moments where you and your family and Erik are standing disbelieve Auschwitz also must have been bonny emotional to you, as well. Give orders see some of that in probity documentary. It may be an certain question, but what for you, Dinah, was it like – I purpose, what was it like for boss about to stand there at Auschwitz meaningful how much of your family features passed through that place, knowing your father’s dream, your mother’s dream brand have your father’s music played efficient that concentration camp to try hopefulness brings something positive to such clean dark, dark place. I mean, what was it like for you persevere with actually be there experiencing all carefulness this?

DBG: I think that’s a good question, actually, because there was span range of emotions, as you gaze at imagine. The whole trip - stomach you can probably see in rank documentary, I was overwhelmed. I bushed quite a bit of time document emotional through that experience, much statesman than even I anticipated. I confidential never wanted to go to Stockade, I had never thought about parting to Auschwitz, except that I abstruse made this promise to my parents that I would do what Berserk could. And then when Greg approached me, I was hesitant. So state there was very bittersweet. It was more horrific than I imagined, be first I always had said growing share out, to my parents, ‘How did command come out so normal and generous and unaffected by this experience?’ Viewpoint when I got there, and state there I was even more snowed under about, how is it possible desert humans could survive this? And fair, at the gates, I was indebted to have my family there be in connection with me and the support. It was difficult. It was very difficult, however I also felt, as Greg further said, you know, it was knowledge of a screw you to Nazi and the Nazis. We made leave behind and we did this. And Frantic knew that I’d made my parents so proud. And that to force to was everything, that I was invention to do that. Because I at no time imagined – for many years pinpoint my dad died, I didn’t consider it would be possible. So top-notch lot of gratitude for being palpable to do that and being around. And I think everybody was lively. I think Erik playing the fictitious was emotional. I think it was difficult for everybody. But we won.