Strings of Hope: The Meanings of the Violin in Jewish and Holocaust History

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of orchestra music, specifically the violin, in concentration camps during the era of Nazi rule. What impact did the violin have on Jewish music and culture prior to Nazi domination? How did the Nazis use instrumental music to manage of the camps and control the lives of prisoners? How did the music prove to be a means of defiance against Nazi power? In an era when Nazis stripped Jews of their belongings, what did simply possessing a musical instrument mean to Jewish musicians? This study places the violin at the center of Holocaust inquiry and at the intersection of music history and Jewish history. I examine a broad body of primary sources from autobiographies to art and oral histories to photographs utilizing textual, material, and visual methods of analysis.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History (UMKC)

Grantor

University of Missouri--Kansas City

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Cobden, Tracy M.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Forman-Brunell, Miriam, 1955-

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10355/48340

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/48340