The Auschwitz Violin.

The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada.

A classical music concert in Krakow in the winter of 1991 begins this moving story. It is here that an elderly woman, Regina, breathes life into the strings of her violin. Her music is exquisite and after hearing her play another musician is keen to discuss the beautiful instrument.
The violin was made in a Nazi camp by the Regina's father.That in such a brutal place such a remarkable instrument was crafted is amazing . To find out the full story the musician engages Regina till 'the' story is told.

This is a short book , some 109 pages but what it lacks in pages it more that makes up for in prose. A moving, frightening and courageous tale unfolds, where the human spirit reigns supreme under the most appalling conditions.

'During the Spring Cleaning he had felt more concern for himself than pity for the condemned.But now suddenly, hearing in the distance the shouts directed at the newly arrived prisoners, he marvelled that his heart had not completely died, that he could still feel for others, that compassion for other men could spring from him like a tiny blade of grass emerging not from some wasteland but from the rich earth.Despite the derision and his forced smile this morning, despite the months of cold, hunger, and threats, his body bruised by beatings, the tremendous effort to stifle the cries when he was whipped, learning not to long for anything, not to think of anything beyond the immediate, despite it all, his heart was alive.' page 86.

Highly recommended. A book that will stay with me for a long time.