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Women's orchestra of Auschwitz – New Testimony
In the dark world of 65 years ago, in the shadow of Auschwitz gas chambers and crematoria, a group
of women stood and played music. Rachela (Rachel) Zelmanowicz was there too, a skinny and
frightened girl. Her detailed testimony out of the "other planet" of death is published now.
Rachel Zelmanowicz was born in Bendzin, Poland, 8 October 1921. On September 1st 1939, a month
before her 18th birthday, war broke out. Her studies in the High school ended. Rachela lived in the
ghetto until she was deported to Auschwitz with her father and brother. Her father was murdered the
same day they arrived to Auschwitz, which was also his birthday.
A shy girl, who played the mandolin only in the elementary school, she was pushed by her brother's
fiancée to join the orchestra at Auschwitz, conducted by well-known violinist Alma Rose'. Alma and the
orchestra were the only chance of Rachela to escape certain death. Rachela played in great fear as
she never played. Outside, death raged as Dr. Mengele was selecting people, but in the Block the
orchestra was rehearsing. Her brother took part in the Sonderkommando prisoners' revolt, and was
murdered right after the failure of the revolt.
At the end of 1944 the Jewish girls of the orchestra were deported to Bergen-Belsen, where hunger
and disease were taking lives of tens of thousands of peoples. In April 1945 the British army released
the notorious camp, and started a fierce struggle to save the rest of the survivors from dying of
starvation and disease.
Rachela sought to immigrate to Palestine, but on her way she met Raphael Olewski, a handsome
young man of a distinguished rabbinical family from Poland. He was one of the prominent leaders of
the survivors of Bergen-Belsen. They married and gave birth to their daughter Yochi. In 1949 the
Zionist family came to Israel, and here was born their son Arie. The story of the women's orchestra
was unknown for years, until in the 1980s people started to deal with it in literarture, theater, radio
and TV. Some books, plays and opera told the story of these amazing women's group. The first book
was written in France by one of the survivors, later a play was written by Shmuel Hasfari, and
Hollywood produced a film with the British actress Vanessa Redgrave.
In recent years, an extensive academic research about "Women in the Holocaust" was witnessed.
Israeli Raanana Symphonette Orchestra dedicated concert series to the story of this special orchestra
and its legendary conductor, Alma Rose'.
Rachela Zelmanowicz-Olewski was interviewed by Yad Vashem and gave detailed testimony. Now her
son and daughter made the testimony public, translated it into English and added some fascinating
photos and documents, including a 60 years old "Hello from Hell" – an index working card of Rachela
recorded by the SS in Auschwitz.
The testimony sheds light on the fascinating phenomenon that took place in the darkness of "other
planet" of Auschwitz, and adds an authentic first-hand description for academic research in Israel and
abroad.
The first edition of testimony in Hebrew and English was published privately and was printed courtesy
of Bank Leumi at the Open University of Israel in Ra'anana.
Arie Olewski