Holocaust Remembrance Day begins on the evening of April 27th and ends the evening of April 28th. It’s a day that is meant to commemorate the Holocaust. I’m sorry but that sounds so wrong in my mind so I’d like to think of it as a day to remember and celebrate the innocent Jewish lives that were so savagely taken during World War II.
The Holocaust is something that I learned about in school and my love of History and reading helped broaden my knowledge about this horrendous time. The stories and passages I’ve read coming from the mouths of survivors and the scenes they’ve burnt in my mind will be with me forever. I cannot imagine going through something like that. Nor can I imagine the horrible scenes they’ve been left with!
For those of you who may not be aware of the Holocaust; It started in 1933 when Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany and put laws in place stripping away the rights of the Jewish people. This heinous time resulted in the slaughter of millions of Jewish people.
In February 2014 the oldest known Holocaust survivor and Worlds oldest pianist (Alice Herz-Sommer) died at the age of 110. While I’m happy that she lived so long, I’m saddened by her tragic story and have decided to write a post to celebrate the Jewish faith and share her love of music and musicians as I completely understand how music can take you away to a happier place.
- Alice Herz-Sommer (Worlds oldest pianist & Holocaust survivor)
- Art Garfunkle (Simon & Garfunkle)
- Paula Abdul
- Gene Simmons (Kiss)
- Bob Dylan
- Felix Mendelssohn (19th century Mozart)
- George Gershwin
- Arnold Schoenberg
- Barbara Streisand
Music is a beautiful thing and should be enjoyed by all. After hearing about this wonderful woman, her high spirits after such a tragic life and the joy music brought her…I can’t help but love music even more and will think of Alice and how music saved her life every time a song moves me 🙂
As someone who lost many relatives in the Holocaust, I thank you for sharing this with our readers. 6 million Jews perished in that war, in ways that escape belief. Commemorating the day so that history does not repeat itself is a small step in the fight against racism.
Now how could you not have Barbra Streisand on this list!!! For shame.
I didn’t mean to make light of this tragic event.
Lol, I’ll add her name just for you 🙂
It’s a small step but hopefully one that will help make a difference. Sorry to hear that you had relatives that were victims of this horrendous time 🙁 One generation at a time we’ll make this world a better place!
Thanks for sharing Jason. I’m lucky to have one grandmother still alive to tell us her stories. It’s unreal the things we’ve heard. Thanks again for writing this.