One of the Girls in the Band

by Helena Dunicz Niwińska

Helena Dunicz Niwińska was born in Vienna in 1915. She lived with her parents and brothers in her hometown of Lwów until 1943. At the age of 10, she began learning to play the violin at the conservatory of the Polish Musical Society. She studied pedagogy from 1934 to 1939, continuing her musical education the whole time.

After their arrest in January 1943 and incarceration in Łącki Prison, she and her mother were deported to Auschwitz in October 1943. In Birkenau, she was a member of the women's orchestra—as a violinist—until January 1945. After being evacuated to the Ravensbrück and Neustadt-Glewe camps, she was liberated in May 1945. She and her fellow prisoner Jadwiga Zatorska returned at the end of May to a postwar Poland that no longer included her beloved hometown of Lwów. She moved in with Jadwiga's family in Cracow, and soon after began a career at the Polish Musical Publishers, where she worked until she retired in 1975 as deputy director of publications for musical education.

Her book 'One of the Girls in the Band: The Memoirs of a Violinist from Birkenau' is the story of her family's tragic fate and more particularly of the time when, as prisoner number 64118, she played in the women's camp orchestra.

She survived Auschwitz-Birkenau by playing the violin.

Genres: Nonfiction, Holocaust, Memoir, World War II, War, Poland, History

182 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Larisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like every other book about the Holocaust, this was unsettling to read. I like how this book presents the emotional part more than the physical abuse and inhuman treatments, but it also pays attention to the post-war period. Helena Dunicz tells us about her journey in the multiple concentration camps as well as the readaptation process that came after and the long term effects of their torment.

[Stan Vlieg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't been writing revieuws of late. I think i felt that i could not add some information on the books i read because there were so many written already. With this book i feel that it is less so and that i should at least say something about it.

I bought this book at the book stand in camp Auschwitz just 20 meters away from the Arbeit macht frei entree post. After walking around in the camp for some 6 hours i felt numb. Most of the baracks were made into musea with each one pointing out the specific horrors that occured some 70 years ago. I didn't feel that it should stop there and with that reason i bought this memoir. Till now i only read male holocaust memoirs so i thought i should read up on a woman's perspective. The musical aspect also interested me, i was very curious how such an orchestra could function while seeing everything that happened around them.

The woman in question is Helena Dunicz Niwinska. She and her mother were thrown into a Polish jail by the Gestapo for aiding help to anti nazi persons. That they did not know that the people they took into their house where partisans did not matter to the nazis. Helena already lost her father (he died in 1940 during Soviet occupation)and her brothers (one brother fled to England and the other went into underground resistance) so things did not look up at the moment. Ofcourse it will only grow worse.

Helena and her mother were transported to Birkenau where they were confronted with the systematic extermination of mostly Jewish people and other Untermenschen according to the Nazis.

Helena was forced to play the Violin by her demanding father. Thankfully it was the Violin that made it happen that she survived that undescribable place. Reading this memoir after the visit (we also went to Birkenau that day) made it even more hard to read. So for the people planning a visit to Auschwitz i can really advise you to buy this book because it is hard to find anywhere else. But especially because it is another book that takes you into the unimaginable and makes it hard not to reflect on your own life and put it in another perspective. It did so with me.

It is maybe strange to say that i like reading memoirs like this because of the cruel topic. But books like these brings up a lot of emotions and that is the reason why i read. Most of all i think it is important that we should never forget that this happened.

Edit: for people close to me just ask if you want to borrow the book. For others far far away i found a link where you can purchase the book. Don't think twice it's alright.

http://auschwitz.org/en/bookstoreprod...

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just visited Auschwitz-Birkenau in June, I was able to picture the places she mentions throughout the book. This is a wonderful but heart-rending book to read. I have never read a book about a concentration camp that goes into such detail. How human beings could treat other human beings the way they were treated is unfathomable.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this newer perspective on living through the experiences of concentration/extermination camps, as the most common and well documented ones tend to be that of Jewish prisoners. The overall layout was very good and the story was detailed enough for one to fully understand the day to day activities, without feeling like you were there watching minutes pass with Helena. The pictures were a welcome addition that added visual context to things being discussed.

[Tom Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely powerful and impacting book. Bought that at Aushwitz couple years ago and finally read it. This hits deep.

[Alessia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una biografia di una sopravvissuta alla disumanitá di cui mai avremmo pensato di poterne essere testimoni.
La storia, la memoria sono le uniche chiavi che aprono le porte del presente e del futuro. Spesso e volentieri,lo dimentichiamo.

[Jeanne Alfveby Crea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grateful for her story. Helena Dunicz Niwinska wrote this book in her nineties, in the twilight of her days. "It is my desire -as one of the last eyewitnesses to those unbelievable crimes- to make the succeeding generation aware of how dangerous certain catchy and apparently innocuous ideologies can be. In the measure that they spread, and as a result of the fallibility of the human conscience, they can give rise to egotistical, destructive, and hateful systems like nazism, racism, or communism."

Helena and her mother were not Jewish, yet they were sent to Auschwitz because of the people they rented rooms to. Helena tells the story in a honest way from a point in time 70+ years after surviving the hell that was Auschwitz and Birkenau. It's told in a less emotional tone, but it's horrifying and heartbreaking nonetheless.

Prior to Auschwitz, "in the cities and towns, we were fed propaganda about the benefits of communism and socialist justice through loud-speakers hung everywhere." They were being spied on, fear and misery worsened and the churches were closed except for two which were under surveillance.

She was asked by the grandchildren of her cousins which of the occupiers, Soviet or German, was more brutal towards the Poles? "It must be said that they're brutality toward the Poles was equal, but we experienced it differently. The Germans were overt enemies who did not conceal the fact that their goal was to annihilate us. The Soviets, on the other hand, tried to persuade us that they were our friends, liberators, and even our brothers. I regarded that falsehood, which after all constitutes the essence of the communist ideology, as something exceptionally, repulsive, deceitful, and particularly sinister."

"As in the Polish cities they had occupied earlier, so too in Lwow the Germans created a ghetto for them (the Jewish people in the town)-this was a prelude to extermination."

Helena writes about being herded into a cattle car with her mother, going to the unknown. Ending up at Auschwitz / Birkenau, she writes about the harrassment, humiliation and succeeding stages of dehumanization.

"When first day in Birkenau I cannot recall the exact order in which one stage followed another, and whether things were drawn out or happened quickly. Forever in my memory was the humiliation, the feeling of being stripped of human dignity, the paralyzing fear, the revulsion toward the witnesses and perpetrators of our agony, and the amazement that this fate had been prepared for us by people from the cultural elite of the European nations. I believe that the entire structure and organization of the camp was perfidiously designed to paralyze the prisoners with fear and debase them." This combined with the mental and physical exhaustion, the inhumane living conditions in the barracks and the hunger, all started at the very beginning.

"One thing is certain: without my violin I would not have survived."

"Helena who doesn't say much, has finally told her story of being a violinist from Birkenau."

I highly recommend "One of the Girls in the Band" it recounts the experiences and memories of Helena Dunicz Niwinska of her years at Auschwitz and Birkenau. We need to remember and never forget the evil that happened in concentration camps especially to the Jewish people and also to those non-Jews who were also imprisoned, mistreated, tortured and killed there. It is with gratitude to all those who survived and have told their stories. We need to keep our eyes open to propaganda and dangerous ideologies today.

[Kelsey Mangeni (kman.reads)]

One of the Girls in the Band by Helena Dunicz Niwińska

A reading experience I will never forget: exactly one year to the day I visited Auschwitz & Birkenau and purchased this book from the bookstore, in the midst of a rainy weekend—after effects of a hurricane by the same name as the author.

There were so many excruciating prisoner stories and details that I had never heard in any other holocaust book before. You would think someone in this situation would do anything to forget what they lived through but you can tell she has done a lot of research and read many survivor memoirs based on her statistics and quoted sources. And she was not afraid to state which other members of the orchestra remembered details incorrectly.

This book left me with deep astonishment at what humans are capable of surviving. I also loved the author describe how the power of music provided a hope and relief that saved her in the concentration camp, and as she reassembled her life after the war.

“Some former prisoners look back on their time in Birkenau and recall that the sound of the music they heard from somewhere was soothing. That is also why thousands of Jews, including women with babies in their arms, went peaceably to their appointment with death in the gas chambers. Their composure resulted from the lie—that here, in the place they had come to, things must not be so bad if they are “welcomed” with music.”

[Bookmaniac70 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this e-book from the online store of Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum after my unforgettable visit to Auschwitz. As a musician I was interested to know more about the Auschwitz orchestra which obviously saved many lives. The memoir impressed me very much with its truthful narrative. Reading it with the images of the real places in my head turned out to be harder than I expected. Helena Dunicz Niwinska and Maria Szewczyk had done a great work of presenting this valuable eyewitness account in a simple but clear writing. It is worth mentioning that Mrs Niwinska touches a couple of sensitive topics such as the tension between Pole and Judish women which, she argues, was derived mostly from the language barrier and the fact that Polish women were receiving food parcels from their relatives. For obvious reasons, this was not possible for the Jews. She also depicts very lively and touching images of her friends in the camp as well as of the violinist Alma Rose who served as a "capo" of the women`s orchestra. Very sad book which reminds us that in certain circumstances ordinary people are capable of inflicting unbelievable evil and humiliation to other human beings. But at the same time, ordinary people are capable of showing care and mercy, even risking their own lives for the others.

[Carmeluuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro bastante duro y crudo que muestra la realidad vivida por muchas mujeres en los campos de concentración alemanes en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Es verdad que yo buscaba un libro más político e informativo pero este no es así, es un libro muy personal y sencillo sobre la experiencia de nuestra protagonista en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, desde su arresto en Polonia hasta su liberación. Lo recomiendo para personas que les interese esta época y que tengan bastante información previa, si buscais conocer más sobre el acontecimiento histórico, este no es vuestro libro. Por otro lado, es un libro que he sufrido mucho y que a su vez me ha encantado, logras ponerte en el lugar de la protagonista y revivir con ella lo que los alemanes llevaban a cabo en ese lugar del horror, más de una persona debería leer este libro y sufrir un golpe de realidad.

Por último, quería dar a conocer que este libro lo compré en Auschwitz, justo después de realizar la visita, y debo decir que tendría que ser obligatorio que todas las personas de este mundo visiten este lugar, conozcan su historia y los horrores que allí acontecieron. No podemos vivir en un mundo dormido, acomodado y lleno de diferencias, ya que, remitiendome a una de mis citas favoritas que descansa en este campo de exterminio, el que no conoce su historia está condenado a repetirla, y nosotros, la estamos olvidando.

[Craig Barner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Music almost certainly saved the life of Helena Dunicz Niwinska, a Polish inmate of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. She became a violinist in the Madchenorchester von Auschwitz -- Girls Orchestra of Auschwitz -- in Birkenau, the camp's main extermination center. Her mother died in the camp because of the combined effects of exhaustion, terror and age. It is not hard to image that the same fate would have befallen her daughter were it not for music.

Niwinska exemplifies Shakespeare's idea that music helps sustain life: "The man that hath no music in himself/Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds/Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils." Music fortified Niwinska, a victim of the hideous Nazi regime. And musicians received better treatment than other prisoners, according to Niwinska's memoir One of the Girls in the Band. All but two players survived Auschwitz.

There is a bit of irony in the reaction of the Nazis to the orchestra. As they were murdering people, the Nazis took an active interest in the band. They wanted to ensure it had gentile as well as Jewish players. More important, they attended concerts to hear music. There was also second orchestra composed of men. Did the music soften the Nazis?

Make no mistake, however: The Germans wanted music to distract inmates from the mass murder. It was part of their hellish plan to kill Jews and others they found undesirable. Niwinska's band mostly played marches. It would accompany inmates as they went off to "work" in the morning and then again in the evening as they came back.

The most tragic element of Niwinska's story are about Alma Rose, an Austrian-Jewish conductor of the orchestra. She apparently died of food poisoning. She suffered before her death. Josef Mengele, the notorious physician who performed barbarous experiments on prisoners, ordered a spinal tap on Rose. She molded the orchestra that was made up of mostly amateur musicians into a polished ensemble.

Auschwitz was hell, yet there was music in the air. One of the Girls in the Band is a compelling read about this surreal bit of Auschwitz history.

[Jaret Ferratusco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunningly composed memoir, into which long years and much research, specifically on the part of the author but also her transcriber, have resulted in a many-layered and quite different kind of emotional treaty with the reader . . . to pay attention, and to know that knowledge, remembrance and education is at the very height of our greatest human capacity to evolve. The haunted love in Helena's rock-solid memory comes across to the reader as one might expect from an accomplished classical musician, trained in the Arts to listen, learn, and compose, and yet every page offers surprisingly vivid recollections I simply was not expecting at all.

I purchased this book from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim, and would greatly encourage all interested readers to check out the book shop on their website, as it also serves as a publishing house and can put you in connection with memoirs and other historical literary endeavors that you can't find easily in stores.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always incredibly harrowing and insightful to read about the lives of those who survived the concentration camps. I hadn’t heard of this book before but picked it up from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. I always advocate to read the literature of survivors and this piece is no different. We must remember what the authors went through and what many lost their lives to.

[Liesbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grateful to have read it. I found this book in one of the small bookshops in Krakow in finished it in a few days. It left a deep and lasting impression

[Aurore]

Je lis la version française, impossible à ajouter (nouvelles règles, semble-t-il: il n'est plus possible d'ajouter des livres à la base de données si on n'est pas bibliothécaire)... Vu que le site est déjà peu fourni pour les francophones, cela ne peut créer, malheureusement, qu'une barrière de plus à l'enrichissement des rayons en français, même si je comprends l'importance de maintenir une base de données "propre"...
À toutes fins utiles, l'ISBN de la version française que je lis est 9788377043479.

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

One of the Girls in the Band is the memoir of Helena, Polish violinist, who through a series of heartbreaking circumstances finds herself in a women’s orchestra in Auschwitz concentration camp. She starts her story at the beginning, with her early childhood and, as a woman in her 90s, she follows her story to the present. Like most memoirs of this period, it is a remarkable tale of survival that shares the common theme of friendship with tiny glimpses of beauty among horror and unthinkable tragedy.

The musical and musician aspect gives it a different slant and the narrative voice is very strong. Helene responds to other written memoirs of fellow survivors and tries to shed light on the intentions of those who she feels have been slandered in memory. *possible spoiler next sentence* She tries to sort through the ethical misery of playing your violin while watching families walk to the gas chambers - I can’t imagine this sort of turmoil and it’s hard to think about.

I had a hard time with all the foreshadowing and the translation isn’t particularly lyrical or beautiful. But, having now visited Auschwitz (I purchased this book in the bookshop there) I appreciated having some context and a visual sense of where the events took place. I’m glad Helene took the time to write her story.

[Giulio Ciacchini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purtroppo avendo letto molti testi sui campi di sterminio (Levi e Solženicyn), Helena non aggiunge molto alla descrizione degli orrori di quel periodo.
Tuttavia la sua angolazione, sia di donna sia di privilegiata in quanto musicista, rendono importante la sua storia.

Da ultimo, il fatto che sia passata dall'occupazione sovietica di Leopoli poi sotto il potere nazista, internata ed infine "liberata" dai sovietici rendono speciale la sua testimonianza priva di infingimenti.
Colpisce come per lei, che ripeto ha sperimentato entrambi, non ci siano differenze sostanziali.
Nelle sue memorie descrive in questo modo i due regimi da cui si è salvata:
"Ascoltandoti zia, mi chiedo chi degli occupanti, quello sovietico quello nazista fosse più crudele a Leopoli nei riguardi dei polacchi.
Bisogna rispondere che la loro le loro crudeltà nei confronti dei polacchi erano diverse ma noi la avvertivamo alla stessa maniera.
I superuomini tedeschi erano dei nemici visibili non nascondevano che il loro scopo fosse il nostro annichilimento.
I sovietici, al contrario, ci dicevano di essere nostri amici, nostri liberatori, semplicemente dei fratelli. Percepivo questa menzogna, che rappresentava del resto l'essenza dell'ideologia comunista, come qualcosa di eccezionalmente disgustoso insidiose particolarmente nefasto."

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka bardzo łapiący za serce. Przedstawia z jakimi problemami borykali się ludzie w obozach koncentracyjnych oraz to jak te chwile wpłynęły na ich dalsze życie. Bardzo polecam zwłaszcza osobą, które miały okazje odwiedzić Auschwitz-Birkenau i chcą jeszcze bardziej pogłębić swoją wiedzę, ale z perspektywy osoby, która była tam osadzona, ponieważ autorka właśnie to piekło przeżyła.

P.S. Dla mnie jedynym problemem, były wplątane niemieckie wyrażenia, które nie zawsze były przetłumaczone w dodanym na końcu ”słowniku”. Jednak z drugiej strony pozwalało to wczuć się w klimat panującego w niemieckim obozie ładu.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is quite difficult to say that you like such kind of a book, having the Holocaust as the subject.
This book might change the way you look at life. Hopefully it will transfer the strength and hope it carries between its lines to its reader. Hopefully the reader will realize what's important in this life and in this world. Hopefully this memoir will make even the slightest change for the better in someone's life, like it did to me. It was not the atrocities, but the hope and strength that prevailed in spite of and overcoming the worst kind of hell one could possibly imagine living.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book following my visit to Auschwitz. It is a powerful story of a girl who falls in love with the violin and is then arrested along with her family and sent to Birkenau. There, she played the violin in the women's orchestra. The story follows her time in the concentration camp to her liberation, and then return to her home. It is an awe inspiring story of surviving and finding "life" in dark places.

[Sara La porta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trovo sempre interessanti i libri riguardo questi argomenti .
Nell'epilogo Helena scrive: "Considero la mia sorte e le mie vicissitudini come una piccolissima parte di ciò che deve essere stato il coinvolgimento di un qualsiasi altro polacco. Fui un piccolissimo ingranaggio che sopravvisse, nonostante la sua debolezza"
Ritengo necessario, doveroso e rispettoso leggere, conoscere e ricordare

[Rebecca Lobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again I never ceased to feel amazed, cross and sad at what happened in the concentration camps. Helena survived because she played violin, but she still lost everything.

I only give 3 stars because I would have loved to have known more about life after Birkenhau l. But what she went through was devastating.

[Rebecca Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving, fascinating story. At first I was unhappy with the translation as I thought it was stilted, but it reflects an older Polish person's reflections. Very quick to read - I finished it in two sessions - in part because I could not put it down.