Israeli violinmaker Amnon Weinstein devotes much of his time to restoring violins owned or used by Jews during the Holocaust. Some arrive with moving and remarkable back stories, and this book brings together a collection of these. The musicians portrayed run the gamut from world-renowned violinists to young people who can play just well enough to avoid death, if only temporarily. The stories are very interesting, but the most powerful aspect of the book is the banality of the evil perpetuated on these people. It's just one small sub-set of victims, but in some ways that makes the horror more immediate and incomprehensible. ( )

Amnon Weinstein, a Tel Aviv violinmaker, has made it his mission to collect “survivor” violins of the Holocaust. Following in his father’s footsteps, he became one of Israel’s foremost violin repairmen, and as such, has had several such instruments brought to him in need of repair. Over the years, he has not only restored a number of fine instruments, but also begun investigating their stories. James A. Grymes’ Violins of Hope: Violins of the Holocaust – Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind’s Darkest Hour, tells the stories of seven of these instruments.

The first instrument featured helps tell of Bronislaw Huberman and the founding of the Israel Philharmonic, a fascinating and inspiring story. The Jewish concertmaster of the Oslo Philharmonic is featured in another chapter. Other instruments were performed on in concentration camp orchestras and in ghettos, helping their owners survive, sometimes with lighter duty because of their musical talent. Among the memorable passages of the book is one in particular when the author talks of Nazi officers secretly enjoying American jazz music – written by Jews (George Gershwin, Irving Berlin), and performed by Jews (late in the evening in the camps so as not to be discovered).

Much of the historic material here will not be new to our readers, but by focusing on the musical instruments and performers involved, the author perhaps brings more depth to the history we have already learned. And for anyone who has not yet been exposed to this material, it can be a unique introduction to the horrors and survivors of the Holocaust. ( )