Alma Rosé came from a privileged musical background, but instead of relying on her family’s celebrated name, she decided to follow her own path and organized a highly successful women’s orchestra, the Vienna Waltzing Girls—not an easy feat by any means for a woman living in a predominantly patriarchal society. When the German troops marched into her native Vienna in March 1938, Alma refused to submit to the new discriminatory order that prohibited Jews from performing in the occupied territories. After taking her elderly father to the safety of England, she returned to Europe where she played—sometimes openly defying regulations—until her arrest in late 1942.
After a short detention in the French transit camp Drancy, she found herself on the transport heading to Auschwitz—the extermination camp in which an inmate’s life expectancy was around two months. Grueling work, crammed and extremely unsanitary living conditions, constant abuse by the SS and the Kapos (inmate functionaries appointed by the SS to supervise order), meager rations, widespread diseases and regular selections turned each day into a fight for survival.
Only the inmates from the so-called “privileged” details could enjoy the semblance of normality. Their barracks weren’t too overcrowded and sometimes even heated; often they had their own latrines attached to their block instead of having to use the communal ones; they slept in separate bunk beds with their own bedding; their rations were much more generous than those of the regular inmates; they could wear civilian clothes and grow out their hair; they could take showers daily and have their clothes deloused or washed once a week—a privilege which was often a matter of life and death in a camp plagued by epidemics of typhus spread by lice. Mostly the inmates belonging to the so-called “camp elite” worked either in the Kanada (the sorting detail, where the belongings and the valuables of new arrivals were processed and later transported to Germany), crematoriums (to compensate for the horrific work they had to do for the SS, the Sonderkommando inmates were fed excellently and were generously supplied with alcohol by the SS), camp offices, or orchestras. Fortunately for her, Alma found herself assigned to one such “privileged” detail.
According to eyewitness accounts, Alma was an excellent strategist when it came to dealings with the SS. She managed to secure the protection of quite a few high-ranking members of the camp administration beside her immediate superior and benefactor, the infamous women’s camp leader, Maria Mandl (sometimes spelled Mandel). Alma completely reorganized the band that used to be able to play only a few popular songs and simple marches, expanded it from twenty to forty members and turned it into a highly successful orchestra, admired by such camp SS higher-ups as Franz Hössler, Josef Kramer, and even Josef Mengele. However, unlike some other privileged inmates who purposefully chose the path of voluntary servitude, Alma Rosé was a far cry from a typical camp collaborator. She openly despised SS wardens and on one occasion even stopped her performance due to the noise in the audience and demanded absolute silence from her uniformed audience.
Using her talent and personal charm as a means to improve her orchestra girls’ living conditions, Alma managed to secure such privileges for her charges as daily showers and post-lunch naptime, a stove to warm the quarters and to cook food, the privilege to receive parcels from home (for Aryan members of the orchestra) or from the Red Cross (for the Jewish girls), a grand piano for the Music Block and new uniforms, which were different for daily wear and performances. And—perhaps the most important privilege—the orchestra’s exclusion from the regular selections held by SS wardens and Dr. Mengele; a privilege which remained in power even after Alma’s death.
According to Flora Schrijver Jacobs, one of Alma’s orchestra girls, “She (Alma) was a goddess to the SS—a goddess, who hated them.”
Thank you for reading the story of this truly remarkable woman. I hope you loved The Violinist of Auschwitz and if you did, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
I love hearing from my readers—you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Goodreads or my website.
Thanks,
Ellie
elliemidwood.com
A Note on the History
Thank you so much for reading The Violinist of Auschwitz. Even though it’s a work of fiction, most of it is based on a true story. While writing it, I tried my best to stick to the actual historical facts surrounding Alma Rosé’s life—and death—and only took creative license to enhance the reader’s experience.
Alma Rosé arrived in Auschwitz in July 1943 and, after undergoing the obligatory processing, was placed in the infamous Experimental Block, where SS Dr. Clauberg was conducting his experiments in bloodless sterilization. The circumstances of Alma’s arrival, her initial reaction and behavior, her interactions with the block elder Magda Hellinger and inmate nurse Ima van Esso are all true to fact and based on testimonies given by both women. After Magda Hellinger procured a violin for Alma through Helen “Zippy” Spitzer, the Experimental Block’s “cultural evenings” became such a success among the inmates and nurses, Dr. Clauberg’s assistant and inmate nurse Sylvia Friedmann took Alma off the SS physician’s list, thus saving her from the horrific fate of his multiple victims.
The notorious Block 11, the so-called “Death Barrack” where the camp Gestapo imprisoned, tortured, and executed its victims, indeed stood right next to the Experimental Block. According to the survivors’ testimonies, they could see the so-called “Black Wall” in its courtyard if they peeked through the shuttered windows—the wall, by which the Gestapo executed the condemned inmates by firing squad.
The circumstances of Alma’s transfer to the Birkenau Music Block are also true to fact, though versions of it sometimes differ. Some historians, H. Langbein among them, claim that Alma was transferred to Birkenau after performing for one of the camp wardens on her birthday. Alma’s biographer R. Newman offered a slightly different version, in which he claimed that Alma caught Maria Mandl’s attention after the SS began attending “social evenings” in the Experimental Block. Whatever the case was, Alma was soon discovered by Birkenau women’s camp leader, Maria Mandl, and appointed as a Kapo (prisoner functionary) of the Birkenau Music Block.
The Birkenau Music Block was a relatively new installation, only organized by Mandl in the spring of 1943, just a few months prior to Alma’s arrival. At the time of Alma’s appointment, it consisted of about twenty women, most of whom weren’t professional musicians and who could only play the so-called Katzenmusik—cacophony—according to the survivors’ admissions. “No conductor in the world ever faced a more formidable task. Alma was charged with making something out of sheer rock” (Helen “Zippy” Spitzer).
Zofia Czajkowska (Sofia in the novel), the Music Block’s first Kapo and conductor, was indeed demoted to the position of the block elder so that Alma could create a semblance of a real orchestra out of the band, or at least such was Mandl’s plan for the violinist. Instead of asserting her immediate authority, Alma chose to create something more of a partnership with the former Kapo. According to Zippy, “Alma at first had difficulty with the Polish players, but Czajkowska in stepping down and taking on the position of block senior was able to help Alma overcome those early problems. Alma did not speak Polish, and very few Poles knew German. Instead of sulking and making Alma’s work more difficult, Czajkowska proved to be a great help.”
The descriptions of the Music Block, including Alma’s room, are also true to fact and based on testimonies given by the Music Block survivors. The daily routine of the block is also based on the survivors’ testimonies. There were a few changes to it after Alma’s taking charge of the orchestra—the girls were indeed given the privilege of taking a one-hour nap after their lunch, a daily shower in the camp’s Sauna, and having their clothes washed once a week.
The circumstances surrounding Alma’s saving Flora Schrijver from the Quarantine Block, just like the fact t
hat she pulled Anita Lasker from the shower room of the Reception Block, are all based on fact and were described by both survivors in their interviews. Alma also took in Violette Jacquet, a violinist from France, on the insistence of Hélène Scheps, who arrived together with Violette on the same transport from France, despite the fact that Violette, on her own admission, was only a mediocre violinist. After Violette contracted typhus during the outbreak in winter of 1943–44, Alma saved her a second time, claiming that Violette was her best violinist and thus sparing her from being sent to the gas chamber. Unfortunately, the conflicts between Polish and Jewish girls concerning the rations, particularly during the typhus outbreak, are also based on fact and were reported by several Music Block survivors. According to their testimonies, Alma tried her best to be a mediator among different nationalities and didn’t favor any particular group, relying on a fair approach instead and doing her utmost to bring the girls together.
The descriptions of other work details, including the famous Kanada, are all true to fact. The inmates permanently assigned to this sorting detail, who were considered among the most privileged ones in the entire camp, were allowed to wear civilian clothes, wristwatches, grow out their hair, and take showers in the same Sauna. Corruption in the Kanada was rampant and the inmate prisoners made use of it, trading goods for favors both with the SS and other inmates. H. Langbein, an Auschwitz survivor and historian, described it in detail in his study, People in Auschwitz: “Many precious things were hidden in the clothes and shoes left behind by the destroyed Jewish transports. The Kanada inmates who sorted those objects brought secretly and daringly very valuable things into the camp. In return for these they received food, clothes, shoes, alcohol, and cigarettes that were smuggled into the camp by civilian employees and SS men. An inmate who was doing ‘organizing’ was instantly recognizable, for he was better dressed and better nourished” (based on testimonies given by Ota Kraus and Erich Kulka).
Szymon Laks and René Coudy, both members of Birkenau men’s orchestra, reported the following after their visit to the Kanada: “The girls who work there have everything—perfume, cologne—and they look as if their hairdos were the work of the top hairdresser of Paris. Apart from freedom, they have everything a woman can dream of. They also know love; the proximity of men, both inmates and SS men, makes this inevitable… Ten meters from their barracks, on the other side of the barbed wire, rise the rectangular chimneys of the crematoriums that burn constantly, burn the owners of all the goods that these admirable creatures sort in these barracks.”
The character of Kitty is based on the real Auschwitz survivor, Kitty Hart, who indeed worked at the Kanada sorting detail, just like the character of Rabbi Dayen, who was a real inmate tasked with burning the papers and photographs of the gassed people. Kitty Hart described her experiences in her memoir, Return to Auschwitz. It was that widespread corruption that led to the investigation conducted by SS Dr. Morgen and which resulted in several arrests and trials of SS personnel, demotions and transfers, and the immediate removal of the first camp Kommandant Höss, who was replaced by Kommandant Liebehenschel.
The new Kommandant Liebehenschel was really known as “the humane Kommandant” among the inmates and he, in fact, brought quite a few welcome changes to the camp’s daily routine. He immediately removed the so-called “standing cells” that were used as a form of torture by the camp’s Gestapo from Block 11; forbade the beatings by the SS and the Kapos; created a practice of personally touring the camp and speaking to the inmates about their concerns; permitted the inmates to keep their caps on during the roll calls in order to somewhat protect them from the elements; proposed a new reward system for the inmates who were granted certain privileges for overachieving their quota at their work detail, including permission to visit the camp’s brothel (it was indeed housed in the same block as the Auschwitz orchestra, as described in the story).
Arthur Liebehenschel was transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau in punishment for divorcing his wife and standing by his fiancée Anneliese Hüttemann, who was accused by the Gestapo for her associations with the Jews. It is true that he was somewhat successful in stopping the systematic gassings for at least some time, constantly fighting with Berlin about the “Final Solution” and only following Berlin’s direct orders under pressure. In contrast, former Kommandant Höss was more than willing to gas both fresh arrivals and old inmates who failed to pass selections on his own initiative. In the spring of 1944, right before the so-called Hungarian Aktion, Liebehenschel was removed from his position for being “too soft,” and once again replaced by Kommandant Höss, who had no qualms about eliminating almost the entire Jewish population of Hungary unlike his SS counterpart Liebehenschel. Arthur Liebehenschel’s personality, interactions with the inmates, and his policies are described in detail in H. Langbein’s People in Auschwitz, and B. Cherish’s The Auschwitz Kommandant.
SS wardens Margot Drexler (also spelled Dreschel or Drechsler) and Irma Grese indeed attended each roll call at Alma’s block. Their descriptions, personalities, and attitude toward the orchestra girls are all based on survivors’ testimonies.
In contrast to them, Maria Mandl showed much more respect and favoritism to her Music Block mascots, designing new uniforms for the girls and granting them more and more privileges on Alma’s requests. Zippy’s interactions with the women’s camp leader, including Mandl permitting her to stay in bed when Zippy wasn’t feeling well and allowing her to take a present for herself after Zippy inscribed a book for Mandl’s SS comrade Kramer, are all based on Zippy’s testimonies. Also, according to her, Mandl indeed changed Alma’s classification from “Jew” to “Mischling” (mixed-blood) in the registration book, thus elevating her status among the camp population and granting Alma certain protection. You can read about it in more detail in R. Newman’s biography, Alma Rosé: Vienna to Auschwitz.
Dr. Mengele, known as “The Angel of Death” among the camp population, was, in fact, a big admirer of Alma Rosé’s talent. He was known to visit the Music Block quite often to hear his favorite music pieces, which he sometimes requested to be played several times in a row. The descriptions of his appearance, personality, and his obsessive fascination with the pseudo-scientific experiments he conducted are all true to fact. The occasion when Teresa W, an inmate prisoner working for Dr. Mengele, discovered “glass jars, in which were human eyes” in a box that was supposed to be shipped to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology and Human Heredity and Eugenics in Berlin-Dahlem was reported by her after her liberation.
To portray Dr. Mengele as accurately as possible, I relied on R. J. Lifton’s study The Nazi Doctors, in which he provides multiple survivors’ testimonies of those who worked with Dr. Mengele personally and were forced to participate in his ghastly experiments and killings. One such inmate doctor was a pathologist, Dr. Miklos Nyiszly, who served as inspiration for the fictional Dr. Ránki. The description of his pathologist’s quarters and the work he was forced to perform under Dr. Mengele’s command are all based on fact and were described by him in his memoir, Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account.
Just like Dr. Mengele, Obersturmführer Franz Hössler also was among the orchestra’s ardent fans. He visited the Music Block regularly and was known to bring his dog along. The fact that Alma herself had had an Alsatian, who used to ride with her in her open car when Vienna was still a city free of the Nazi reign, is also based on truth, just like the fact that it was Hössler who permitted Alma to take a few tutors for her girls from his men’s orchestra’s ranks.
In my descriptions of Hössler’s personality and his infamous sleek handling of the people about to be gassed, I relied on the reports of one of the Sonderkommando’s survivors, Filip Müller, who worked under Hössler for years and was therefore quite familiar with the SS man’s character. In his memoir Eyewitness Auschwitz, Mr. Müller described how Hössler deceived the new arrivals with promises of decent treatment and work and made them go into the gas chambers almost willingly,
as they were reassured by Hössler’s civil manner. So, what fictional Alma witnessed while watching Hössler giving his speech before the doomed people is based on fact.
The installment of the so-called “Family Camp,” where the Theresienstadt Jews were allowed to live in family units and were spared back-breaking work in the outside details is also based on truth. The fact that it was used mostly for propaganda purposes by the SS and liquidated later when such a necessity disappeared was described by both H. Langbein and F. Müller in their studies.
The liquidation of the camp is also based on F. Müller’s personal eyewitness account. As a matter of fact, the Sonderkommando inmate whom Mandl mentions walking inside the gas chamber during the liquidation of the Family Camp is based on Müller’s personal story. He indeed wished to die along with the condemned inmates and was only saved when those inmates forced him toward the door and alerted the SS that one of their Sonderkommando men was inside.
The character of Miklós Steinberg is based on a real Hungarian pianist virtuoso whom H. Langbein mentions in his study. According to him, the Auschwitz musicians indeed allowed him to play the piano when the music room was available (Jewish musicians were essentially banned from the Auschwitz orchestra, contrary to Birkenau’s lenient policy that allowed Jewish musicians to perform along with the Aryan players). His fate remains unknown, and creative license has been taken in creating his character based on a true person.
As for the camp resistance, they were a real clandestine organization as well. It mostly consisted of privileged prisoners who could move freely around the camp (much like Alma and Zippy with their passes—Ausweis) and had access to different work details. It was them who constructed self-made radios to inform the camp population of the news from the front (mostly, they listened to Allied stations, since all the German ones provided at that point was mostly propaganda), who smuggled and stored weapons, and organized a few successful escapes. One of the most famous acts of the camp resistance was the Sonderkommando revolt that occurred on October 7, 1944 and resulted in the destruction of Crematorium IV. The planned uprising failed, the revolt was suppressed, most of its participants executed, but the fact remains—Auschwitz inmates were ready to fight for their freedom no matter the cost. F. Müller, who participated in the revolt and miraculously survived, also described it in his memoir. As for the inmate’s escape that was also organized with the help of the camp resistance, it really took place a few days before the New Year, just as it’s described in the book.
The Violinist of Auschwitz: Based on a true story, an absolutely heartbreaking and gripping World War 2 novel Page 32