The violin from Auschwitz
The Auschwitz Violin ( Catalan : El violi d'Auschwitz ) is a novel by the Catalan author Maria Àngels Anglada , which was published in Catalan in 1994. In Germany, the novel was first published in November 2009 by Luchterhand Literaturverlag . The German translation comes from Theres Moser .
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In her novel, Anglada tells two strands of history whose thematic links are ultimately dissolved.
Krakow 1993
The first story line (subplot) begins in 1993 in Krakow, where the Parisian musician Climent met the Polish violin player Regina at a violin concerto, who impressed him deeply with her virtuoso playing and the sound of her violin. His interest in this special violin leads him on the trail of a story that began in National Socialist Germany.
The second story thread (main storyline) is introduced when Climent receives documents from Regina about her family history, from which he learns that almost her entire family was killed in the Holocaust . He begins to reconstruct the story of the miraculous violin.
Dreifüsselager (subcamp of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp )
After being imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto , the Jewish violin maker Daniel is interned in a subcamp of Auschwitz. There he made friends with the Polish violinist Bronislaw, who was the personal musician of the unscrupulous camp commandant Sauckel. One day Daniel receives the order from the commandant of the camp to make a violin in the best Italian tradition, according to the dimensions of a Stradivarius . What Daniel only found out later through Bronislaw: The order is based on an infamous bet between the commandant and the unscrupulous camp doctor Dr. Rascher: If Daniel succeeds in building the violin, the commandant receives a case of wine; if he fails, the doctor gets Daniel as an object for his diabolical hypothermia experiments .
In the midst of horror, Daniel finally creates an instrument of rare beauty. Bronislaw has to play the violin for the camp commandant. This is where the powerful, unique sound of the instrument becomes apparent when playing the Folia variations by Corelli . A "guest with friendly eyes" (Count Bernadotte) secretly hands Bronislaw a note on which he promises to free him from the camp.
Later, Bernadotte exchanges trucks for some prisoners , and Bronislaw escapes the concentration camp. He looks back at Daniel, who waves him goodbye. Bronislaw does not find out what will become of him.
Stockholm 1993
Bronislaw lives in Stockholm with his wife Ingrid. For the first time since his imprisonment in the concentration camp, he gives a concert in which he plays the Follia by Arcangelo Corelli. A surprise awaits him at home. He is received in the company of musician friends. Among the musicians is the well-known trio: Gerda, Virgili and Climent. Climent was once a student of Bronislaw. The trio accompanies a woman with light eyes, unknown to Bronislaw, who plays a very sonorous violin. Bronislaw begins to remember - it's Daniel's violin from the warehouse.
The unknown woman is Regina, Daniel's adopted daughter, whom Climent had already met in Krakow and whose story he had reconstructed and now brings Bronislaw and Regina together. Regina introduces herself to Bronislaw and tells him that Daniel survived the concentration camp but died young. A friend had brought him the violin at the hospital after the concentration camp was liberated.
Bronislaw finds peace with the memories of the concentration camp, while Regina talks about Daniel. He can now conclude his experiences and knows that the bad nightmares about the camp will not return.
People and historical reference
- Daniel: main character, Polish-Jewish violin maker interned in a concentration camp
- Bronislaw: Polish-Jewish violinist, friend of Daniel, interned in a concentration camp, freed by Count Bernadotte
- Climent: Polish violin player, former pupil of Bronislaw
- Regina: Polish violin player, adopted daughter of Daniel, friend of Climent
- Sauckel: unscrupulous camp commandant of the Dreifüssellager, possibly historical reference to Fritz Sauckel
- Dr. Rascher: sadistic doctor in Auschwitz; possibly historical reference to Sigmund Rascher
- Count Bernadotte: Guest with kind eyes frees Bronislaw; possibly historical reference to Folke Bernadotte
Movie
After the Munich-based film production company Rich and Famous Overnight acquired the filming rights to the novel, a co-production with France and Spain was planned for 2011.