A Garden of Eden in Hell: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer

by MELISSA MULLER, Reinhard Piechocki

Alice Herz-Sommer was born in 1903 in Prague, the Prague of the Hapsburgs and of Franz Kafka, a family friend. Musically very gifted, by her mid-teens Alice was one of the best-known pianists in Prague. But as the Nazis swept across Europe her comfortable, bourgeois world began to crumble around her, as anti-Jewish feeling not only intensified but was legitimised. In 1942, Alice's mother was deported. Desperately unhappy, she resolved to learn Chopin's 24 Etudes - the most technically demanding piano pieces she knew - and the complex but beautiful music saved her sanity. A year later, she, too - together with her husband and their six-year-old son - was deported to a concentration camp. But even in Theresienstadt, music was her salvation and in the course of more than a hundred concerts she gave her fellow-prisoners hope in a world of pain and death. This is her remarkable story, but it is also the story of a mother's struggle to create a happy childhood for her beloved only son in the midst of atrocity and barbarism. Of 15,000 children sent to the camp, Raphael was one of the 130 who survived. Today, Alice Herz-Sommer lives in London and she still plays the piano every day.

Genres: Biography, Holocaust, Nonfiction, History, World War II, Music, War

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the experience of reading this book, I now understand some of what my Mother and her family experienced as prisoners of war in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany.
This life story of Alice Herz-Sommer, still living and now 108 years old, shows how her love of music along with a practical optimism allowed her to bear and transcend the suffering of her experiences during the Holocaust and throughout her life.
Though not a book of horrors, nothing is held back. A world-renowned concert pianist, Herz-Sommer tells Tony Robbins in a recent interview available on You Tube, "Everything is a present."

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 109 years old, Alice Herz-Sommer is the oldest living Holocaust survivor. Alice’s Piano is her remarkable story.

As you may guess from the title, she is an extraordinarily talented and emotive pianist. Her talent and passion for music literally and emotionally saved her life and that of her son during the Holocaust.

Alice was raised in a financially and culturally established family in Prague. In 1943, Alice, her husband Leopold, and her 6-year old son, Stephan (Raphael) were deported to Theresienstadt Ghetto. You may know that Theresienstadt was set up by the Nazis as propaganda. It housed a significant number of artistically, intellectually, and culturally prominent Jews, and was run in part by a committee of its “residents.” It was meant to convince the Red Cross that what the Nazis were doing wasn’t so bad. How could it be? The “residents” attended concerts or performances nightly, maintained and improved their surroundings, and governed themselves. Under the seemingly tolerable surface ran dehumanization, demoralization, terrorism and torture. The matter-of-fact descriptions of these episodes haunted me much more than any Stephen King book ever has.

Most of Theresienstadt’s residents, including Leopold Sommer, were either marched or transported to the Auschwitz or Dauchau concentration camps, where they were gassed soon after arrival. Unfairly or not, Alice’s musical gifts prevented her and Stephan’s deportation. The prisoners and those in charge could not bear to have her gone. Who else would have transported them, mentally and temporarily though it may have been, so beautifully and emotionally? Her concerts provided them with a desperately needed respite.

Theresienstadt was liberated in 1945. Alice and Stephan returned to Prague, but it was not the Prague they had left. Anti-Semitism was sickeningly rampant. Although she was no longer a prisoner, Alice wasn’t free thanks to regulations that stifled every part of her life simply because she was born Jewish. She no longer felt welcomed or at home in the city where she grew up and used to love. They clearly were not happy to have her back.

In 1949, they joined family who had fled early in the war to Palestine. Alice resumed her piano teaching and performances. Stephan changed his name to Raphael and embarked upon an accomplished music career of his own. Later, they moved to London. I believe Alice still lives there, enjoying daily walks, swims, piano practice, visits with friends, and chicken soup.

Chopin’s Études figure prominently in this book. A large portion of its middle discusses how the spirit of several of the études is similar to the story of one of the prisoners. As far as I know, I have never heard any of these works. I am now very curious about them. The beginning of each of these sections contains a few bars of the étude discussed. This made me wish for a longer tenure in my piano lessons (4 years, long, long ago is not nearly enough!), but it did refresh my memory about reading music (F A C E, All Cows Eat Grass, Good Boys Do Fine Always, Every Good Boy Does Fine), as I tried to imagine what each piece sounded like and what Chopin was trying to convey.
I’m not sure that English is the language in which this book was originally written. At times I found the awkwardness of the language and its errors distracting.

This is yet another book about how music has significantly and positively impacted one’s life and about the transcendence of art, of humanity’s deep need to create it and experience it. It is also further proof that passion, curiosity, optimism, creativity, and healthy habits keep one young and vital. These are themes I fully endorse.

Update: 2/23/14: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nat...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I so often do I find myself struggling with the star factor. Five stars for Alice, her amazing story, her strength and optimism. But more like three stars for the book.

A few years ago I came across a youtube video about Alice and immediately added this book to my reading list. I was very eager to read more about this incredible woman, a concert pianist and the world's oldest concentration camp survivor. I feel guilty saying that the book disappointed me and yet it did. I found it very slow going and yet rather choppy at times.

The book beings with her childhood in Prague and tells the story of how she became a concert pianist. It also weaves in the stories of her family and their acquaintances. And that's part of my problem, these stories seem to jump around and insert people, like Franz Kafka, and other notable people of the time and for me that diluted Alice's story. I am sure that all these people influenced who she became but I think it would have had more of an impact as a somewhat shorter, more tightly edited book.

I have friends for whom music is really their first language. I love music, almost all music. To quote Alice, music is life. It is a critical key to being able to access joy for me. But it is not my first language and at times I struggled with the constant references to musicians, works of music and performances. Review are quoted frequently. Alice affirms that Chopin's etudes saved her life and her soul. Others imprisoned in Theresienstadt have said the same thing, that the music they were forced to perform and listen to was an affirmation of life, hope giving, something far more sacred than entertainment despite it's being used by their captors to fool the world. One of the most interesting and strong musical points of the book is when the author takes each etude and describes what is happening musically while tying the musical dynamics and emotion behind the piece to a situation Alice or an acquaintance or other prisoner faced or experience. Very powerful.

Alice is now 110 years old and lives in London. She and her son survived the camps, immigrated to Israel and pursued fulfilling musical careers after the war. She not only survived she truly lived her life with joy and passion. What I remember about her youtube video interview was she said she chose to be optimistic, that even in the camps there was cause to be grateful, to look to the good, that she well knew the bad but chose to look to the good. Excellent advice from an amazing very talented, inspiring, life affirming and positive woman. I am glad I persevered with the book, I struggled a bit with the writing but the story was such that while perhaps 4 stars might be a bit generous, it's definitely better than OK.t

[Jan Hawke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for the book as I did not like the writing style which I found overly simplistic but 5 stars for the heroine of it. I acquired this book on hearing of Alice's death and incredible life on radio 3. She was a truly inspiring person, teaching us as much about how to deal with old age as adverse conditions. I found the first part of the book hard going- so many friends and family members.....but the second part soon shook me out of my ennui.I have to admit I was equally shocked by the treatment of the survivors of the camps by the Czechs when they returned home. Details of the holocaust was well documented, this was not.Most horrifying was the total disregard for human life demonstrated. The children who performed the opera Brundibar were callously shipped off to the gas chambers the following day. However there is no evidence of hatred and bitterness in the book and perhaps this, as well as her music, was how Alice Herz- Sommer made it through each day.

[Marie Inglee · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding look at the time period of the invasion of Nazis during WW11 and excellent character development.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice’s Piano is a straightforward, chronological biography of Alice Herz-Sommer’s amazing life. It was originally published in German as Ein Garten Eden immitten der Holle (or A Garden of Eden in the Middle of Hell), which perfectly describes what she created, along with the other Jewish musicians who were imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. They produced operas, choir performances, orchestras, chamber concerts, all on the most ramshackle of instruments, often from scores reproduced from memory. They refused to give up their humanity in the face of the great inhumanity that surrounded them.

Alice loved music from a young age and showed great promise as a pianist, performing with the Czech Philharmonic at the age of 20 and winning numerous competitions and accolades. Music pervaded every part of her, body and soul, and she loved it deeply. When her piano teacher suggested that she didn’t need to practice for four hours every day because “an hour or two would be quite enough to make progress with your talent,” she replied, “But it gives me so much pleasure…There is nothing lovelier than learning a new piece.”

That love of music sustained her in the concentration camp. She performed more than 100 concerts entirely from memory during the almost two years she was at Theresienstadt, and rotated through several programs that included challenging pieces by Beethoven, Schumann, and Smetana. A highlight of the book was the detailed description of her performances of Chopin’s twenty-four Etudes. Each Etude itself was described, as well as Alice’s performance, often in the words of other survivors who were present or through reviews written at the time. And each Etude was also matched with the story of a friend or compatriot of Alice’s in the concentration camp, some of whom survived and many of whom did not. These brief sketches of just a few of the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust provide a poignant reminder that these were unique individuals, not faceless numbers.

Alice and her son Stephan were liberated from Theresienstadt in 1945. Alice’s husband, Leopold, had been transported to Auschwitz after about a year in Theresienstadt, and then later to Flossenburg and Dachau, where he died. Alice tried to recreate a life for herself and her son in Prague, but found it unwelcoming and inhospitable to Jews after the war, so she emigrated to the newly formed country of Israel, where she spent 25 years as a professor of music at the Jerusalem Conservatory. Finally, in 1986, she moved to London to be closer to her son, now a celebrated concert cellist. Though he passed away in 2001, she continues to live there today.

There are a few awkward phrasings in Alice’s Piano, not uncommon in a translation, but that does not diminish the beauty or power of Alice’s story. It’s truly affecting to read of this woman’s inspiring strength and optimism.

Read more on my blog Build Enough Bookshelves

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Władysław Szpilman (author of The Pianist), Herz-Sommer is a Holocaust survivor who attributes her endurance, at least in part, to the power of music. She was born in Prague in 1903, to well-educated, well-connected parents who were in contact with Franz Kafka and his literary circle. Her husband Leopold was also an amateur musician and they had one son, Raphael, who would go on to work as a cellist and conductor.

In 1943 all three family members were sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp. Along with other professional and amateur musicians, Alice played over 100 concerts at the camp, which was touted in German propaganda as a model of how to integrate Jews into a civilized settlement but in reality was just as brutal as any other Nazi death camp.

Leopold Sommer was killed in 1944 after spells in Auschwitz and Dachau, but Alice and Raphael survived. She lived first in Israel and then in London, where she has been resident since 1986. For a time she worked as a music teacher, and she has always had a special love for the Chopin études. Her son died in 2001, leaving her with a beloved daughter-in-law and granddaughter. At age 109 she is the world’s oldest living Holocaust survivor, with the kind of doggedly positive outlook that should shame anyone into gratitude.

In fact, Alice attributes the fact that she has outlived her twin sister by nearly 40 years thus far as proof that optimism extends one’s life. A book of Alice’s aphorisms (A Century of Wisdom) has been published, and you can view an inspiring video with her here.

I will leave you with a few words she spoke in an interview with Alan Rusbridger (whose book on playing the piano I have also reviewed here): “In any case, life is beautiful, extremely beautiful. And when you are old you appreciate it more. When you are older you think, you remember, you care and you appreciate. You are thankful for everything. For everything.”

(This review formed part of an article about books on music for Bookkaholic.)

[Afiena Kamminga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice's Piano, by Melissa Muller -- an incredible life well worth the effort to learn about; by and large well-written though the long spun out intricacies of musical technicalities seemed overdone for a general readership as not all of us have the knowledge, or interest, to appreciate the ins and out of studying piano. This said, it is fascinating to read how the steadfast dedication and capacity for hard work of Alice Hertz not only developed her musical talent to the point where she became a well-known virtuoso (virtuosa?), but also enabled her (completely unforeseen of course) to save her own life and that of her son in the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt. The writer elaborates on many of the everyday details of daily life, illustrating first the insidious tightening of the screws on Prague's Jewish population -- 'verboten, verboten' for Jews -- and later the almost unbearable deprivations of hunger and filth encountered in the camp. ABOVE all, the book brings home the almost unbelievable callousness and CYNICISM of the Nazi frame of mind, the outright evil of the scheme in Theresienstadt intended to deceive world opinion about the horrors of the 'final solution' of the 'jewish problem,' by encouraging the gifted and accomplished artists among the prisoners to stage theatrical and musical performances, before 'disappearing' the performers when no longer needed, to straightforward annihilation camps. This measure of duplicity and lack of human feelings baffles the mind and brings home not only the depth of human depravity, but the unease about how 'easy' it is to open the doors of the hellish chambers of the human mind. There are moments of relief, like the German war veteran who applied to be returned to the eastern front rather than continue in the 'cushiony' job of serving in this place of horrors. Still, this book, intended no doubt (and succeeding) to highlight the resilience of people going through hell and surviving with mind intact, left me WARY of what humanity is made of...a VERY mixed bag at best.

[Louise]

The story of Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest known Holocaust survivor (she's 107), this is another great book by Melissa Muller. Muller wrote one of my favourite biographies of Anne Frank and wrote this one along with Reinhard Piechocki.

It's the story of Alice and her eternal optimism and how that helped her, and her young son, survive two years in a concentration camp.

Alice was/is a renowned concert pianist with seemingly boundless talent. She played something like a 100 concerts in the camp, for other prisoners, guards and visiting Nazis.

I've read about the atrocities of war before, but never from this perspective. The concentration camp stories are heart-wrenching, but I think the post-war stories were even harder for me to read. You want to think that things got better after the war, but in reality they didn't, not for a long time.

Heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time, it's a great read if you want to meet a true survivor.

Especially poignant are the stories of other prisoners, told in vignettes with Chopin's Etudes.

[Martin Grunseit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Herz-Sommer's story is an inspiring account of outstanding spiritual strength over decades of brutal hardship as a Jewish person at the wrong place and time. She created a beautiful microcosm of music for herself and her son, whilst all around was death and abject cruelty.
She had close ties to well-known figures like Franz Kafka, Max Brod, Gustav Mahler, and many other major musicians of bohemian Europe, and was herself a widely admired concert pianist. Her playing was an enormous source of joy for those who shared the harsh Nazi ghetto of Theresienstadt, giving them something wonderful to live for when giving in to despair would have been so easy.
The writing is nothing brilliant, but never distracts from its subject. More wit and detail could have turned it into a monumental biography, but Alice's extraordinary character suffices to make it well worth reading.

[Jalingko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that narrates the tragic yet beautiful life of Alice Herz-Sommer. Although the book is a biography of Alice, we get to have a peek at many of the fellow Jewish prisoners' life and the horrible atrocities that the Nazis have perpetrated during their regime. It also touches on the crisis and the atrocities Alice and her son had to undergo following the WWII just to return to a normal life. There is light humour scattered throughout the book, but they are little cheeky at times but they work. somehow. By the time I reached the end, I was left pretty inspired by her attitude, and yet horrified by the sheer amount of people the Nazis killed.

[Jodi Tooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your typical holocaust survivor book. I appreciated the detailed references to Alice's passion for music and share her love of Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, and Czech music. Her positive outlook and conviction that we human beings must not learn to hate is timeless. She is truly inspiring.

[Peggy Walt]

Finally read this bio of the well-known "oldest Holocaust survivor" and musician, Alice Herz-Sommer. An amazing life, and a good biography. Well worth reading.

[Jean Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Herz-Sommer (26 Nov. 1903 to 23 Feb. 2014) was the world’s second-oldest known Holocaust survivor, attaining supercentenarian status. She attributed her long life to the salutary moral, spiritual and physical benefits of music, which in her words “takes us to paradise.” Her entire life revolved around it, and, as with Fania Fénelon and Zhanna and Frina Arshanksy, it saved her life and helped her and others to endure unimaginably harsh circumstances during the Holocaust, and in many ways before and after as well.

She spent at least four hours every day at the piano, even, to the degree that she could, after she was deported to the “paradise ghetto” of Theresienstadt in mid-1943. Her mother had been deported to Treblinka the previous year, and her husband was sent to Auschwitz; he later died of typhus in Dachau. However, Alice was spared deportation to a death camp because she was part of a select group of musicians and entertainers kept around for the benefit of the other inmates and so the SS could (falsely) claim that those in Theresienstadt were treated far better than those in the other camps. She survived the war and eventually emigrated to Israel and finally to London, and kept on playing and teaching until almost the end of her life.

The “musical theme” of the book is the 24 Chopin études, Opus 10 #1-12 and Opus 25 #1-12. Alice performed these numerous times – a tremendous feat since they are considered very difficult, some of them almost unplayable. The first several bars of each are shown, and there is a short analysis of each, which is accompanied by a description of individuals and/or events in Theresienstadt which are linked to it in various ways. Taken together they provide as complete a picture of what “life” (if it can be called that) in the “paradise ghetto” was like. Though Alice performed many other works as well (including, many times, the Beethoven “Appassionata”), the 24 études are the ones which always meant the most to her, and to her enthusiastic audiences, to whom they were a reminder that, at least in their hearts and minds, they were still free, and that there was still a better world ahead which hopefully they would live to see. Though many did not, many did, and they always remembered that, despite all the potential for evil and corruption that exists in the human spirit, there is also a nobility which music helps to bring out and lift up as a goal to be attained, through resisting, and rising up against, besetting evil.

Highly recommended, along with “Playing for Time” and “Hiding in the Spotlight.” There are also some absolutely amazing videos on YouTube of various pianists performing the Chopin etudes. I wish I could play like that!

[Derek Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a life changing book and I have found myself regularly thinking back and contemplating the events and message of this book since I finished it several days ago. I feel this is a book that will stay with me for many years to come and is one that I will return to in the future.

The life of Alice Herz-Sommer is an incredible tale of perseverance and hope amidst the worst and darkest of circumstances. It is also ultimately a story of the power of music to sustain the soul through the most unimaginable horrors and trauma. While never coming close experiencing to the horrors of the Holocaust and the crimes of the Nazis, I believe I can say that music has saved my life while in the midst of own struggles with depression. This book has put into words what I think so many of us experience through the healing power of music. A beautiful story of an incredible life that I think we can all learn much from.

[Paul C. Stalder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notwithstanding the clunky, plodding writing, the character of Alice Herz-Sommer radiates through the pages of this work. Filled with optimism, romanticism, and an enduring passion for music, Herz-Sommer is an inspiring example of motherly love and remarkable strength. This work, which focuses mainly on her life before and during her time in Theresienstadt during the Second World War, explores the depth of her character, and her passion for family and music. The interludes of musical history are particularly revealing, illuminating not only the world in which Herz-Sommer lived, but also the compositions themselves. The authors, to their credit, offer an almost sympathetic view of certain Nazi soldiers, albeit grudgingly. What is offered is a very human struggle through, and a very human response to, some of the most trying times of the past century.

[Ahna Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

The documentary, "The Lady in Number 6" by Malcolm Clarke, about the PERSON Alice Herz-Sommer, is almost a necessary supplement to this biography of her life and music. While this book successfully covers her life through the holocaust, the person that the biography creates, or fails to fill out, does not match the personage of the various documentaries of her. While the book is quite an interesting read, if you are interested in the history of the holocaust, I felt it was not well written and was plagued by quite a few non sequiturs. This could be a problem of the original text in German or its translation into English.

One suggestion: if you have a streaming service, or own the music yourself, play the Chopin Etudes and the other pieces that Alice played while you are reading the book.

[Anna Noga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Alice and wish I was more like her. You may recall some viral YouTube videos from a few years ago interviewing the oldest holocaust survivor. That was Alice and music literally saved her life during WWII. This book talks about her life and never ending spirit and will. Who else would describe a concentration camp as " if they let us play music there, how bad can it be?" Her life was surrounded by heartbreak and tragedy but she lived it with the best attitude. What an amazing role model for people today. The question is then, why only 3 stars? Although I love Alice and her story, I wasn't a huge fan of the book itself. Although it's not terrible, the writing could be better.

[Anne Wellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched biography of the celebrated Jewish pianist Alice Herz-Sommer, who was interned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II and thanks to her musical talent was one of the few to survive. The two authors of this competent biography do an excellent job of bringing Alice to life, with very little of the novelisation so often indulged in by biographers in a misguided attempt at immediacy (one of the authors, the Austrian journalist Melissa Muller, has also written on Anne Frank and Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge). The facts are all here and the writing is excellent, which is all that good biography demands.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! What an amazing woman!

I had never heard of Theresienstadt. I didn't realize that there were concentration camps where people would live the way they lived here before being transported to the more infamous death camps. There was a lot more to her story than what she experienced there, but even the other parts of her story made me so grateful for everything I have (and many things I have not had to experience) in my life.

I saw a video of Alice when she was 109. I haven't watched the whole thing, yet, but I will. With everything she'd been through, she still had a positive, happy outlook on life. Really gave me something to think about.

[Shawn Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very touching book about Alice Herz-Sommer. Her love of music, love to her son and her family were astonishing! The strength that music had brought to her was quite amazing . The music not only saved her son and herself but also provided many people joy and hopes in the concentration camp of Theresienstadt . The strength and courage Alice had showed in her life were inspiring . Even at the trial of Eichmann, her reaction was not to hate .

[Marney Hawes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing life! Any part of it would dwarf most of us - put all together this remarkable woman puts us all to shame. Her attitude and optimism during a life of unimaginable hardship, terror and sorrow is hard to fathom in today's world. The world would be a better place if there were more like her in it.

[Atiqah Ghazali AlKashif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefer the 1st one I read A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Somer, the World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor. This one focuses too much on her musical aspect, I got bored and tired reading it.

[FeBookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful and interesting biography I've read. A story of strenght and determinatin and love in a time where love and kindness were unimaginable. The power of music in the darkest of times

[Karyn Tripp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! What a story. This woman was so inspiring. I was really touched by the way she lived her life despite the horrible circumstances that came to her.

[Elissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely compelling! Highly recommended for any classical music lover, as well as those wanting to learn more about the Holocaust.

[Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

$7.99

There are very few people who don't recognize the healing power of music, and while I know very little about classical music, this was a fascinating story of life and survival.

Alice Herz-Sommer was born in 1903 in Prague who turned out to have a musical talent that few people would ever see or be able to listen to. She was brought up in a fairly comfortable world even though her parents and siblings were considerably older. Her mother was not a happy woman, and Alice's twin was much more at the pessimist while Alice always looked on the bright side of life. After surviving the first World War, life got back to somewhat normal but not for long. The Herz family was Jewish, not overly religiously so, but enough for their world to be made very uncomfortable before being turned upside down.

Before World War II, her father had passed away, and her oldest brother didn't live a long and prosperous life. Her mother was still around, and what kept Alice going and happy with her music in addition to her friends, including Leopold Sommer whom she ended up marrying. They had only one son, and in 1942 her mother was deported to one of the camps. There was nothing Alice could do. Her sisters emigrated to Israel in 19/39, but since Alice had a two-year-old would not leave her mother, she was left in Prague.

Unfortunately the three of them were finally deported to one of the camps, and this was a story I hadn't heard before – families being able to stick together. Of course this wasn't one of the death camps – yet.

I have read a number of Holocaust survival stories, and I always appreciate a different perspective. This delivers, and while it dragged in places when it continued to talk about all this classical music, I appreciated hearing how a mother and child survived the Holocaust.

[Leah K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice’s Piano: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer by Melissa Muller
349 pages

★★★★

In February of this year there were reports of the world's oldest known Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer, passing away at the age of 110 years old. As is the norm for me, I had to know more about this woman and asap! What an extraordinary life this woman lived. In 1943, Alice and her family were sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp. Many of Alice’s family and friends would perish in the next couple years but she stayed alive and kept her son alive by her talent alone, piano playing. She would play over 100 concerts for the guards, visitors (such as the Red Cross – concert were held as a cover to the deplorable conditions), and even fellow prisoners. She often felt guilty for the fact that she got to live when so many others didn’t but she would live her life to the fullest during her stay in the concentration camp and for many, many years after liberation.

This was such an interesting story about an incredible woman. There are people who have been through far less than she did and can’t begin to hold the amazing attitude she carried until the end. This is was a well written biography of Alice. Obviously the main focus of this book follows her time in the concentration camp but the life she led before and after are also well chronicled throughout. I will admit to getting bored in places but only due to my lack of knowledge. When the author delved into other composers and music I can only say I know a little about it and it left me wanting to get back to Alice’s story. Overall a wonderful and quick read. This woman really was an amazing person; I wish I could have met her.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well-written story about the Holocaust from a unique point of view.

Alice Herz-Sommer (incidentally, she's the oldest Holocaust survivor) was a talented pianist in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She was ranked among the best pianists in Europe and loved music. She was also a Jew, though she didn't practice her religion, except one of the High Holidays once a year. But when Hitler invaded Prague, she was forced into a ghetto with her husband and son.

This camp, fortunately for Alice, was a "show camp": a camp designed to show both Europe's population and the International Red Cross that Jews were not being treated badly in the camp, and were, in fact, having fun (blatanly untrue, of course)! As Alice was a very well-known pianist, she was forced to give concerts to her fellow inmates.

As it turned out, her piano playing put her in a more "valued" position in the eyes of the SS, and saved her and her young son from being transported to an extermination camp (not really a spoiler, don't worry).

I especially enjoyed two chapters where the authors relate the pieces Alice was playing (Chopin's 24 Etudes, considered the Mount Everest of piano) to the experiences of her and others in the camp. Overall, this story was very unique, and also an accurate portrayal of the tragic events of the Holocaust.