The following resources provide historical, musical and educational context related to Violins of Hope and Holocaust remembrance.

A thought-provoking PBS documentary Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust, is narrated by Academy Award-winner Adrien Brody and features Israeli violinmaker Amnon Weinstein and his efforts to restore violins recovered from the Holocaust.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

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  • Violins of Hope: The Documentary

    Violins of Hope: The Documentary

    This documentary tells the story of the Violins of Hope exhibit. This collection of precious instruments, once played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, traveled here from Israel to be shared and celebrated. For seven weeks, over 50 regional arts organizations, educational institutions, service providers and faith-based groups joined in presenting programming around the exhibit and its vital history.

  • CBS Sunday Morning: Violins of Hope

    CBS Sunday Morning: Violins of Hope

    Amnon Weinstein's father had escaped Europe before World War II; his family was not as lucky. Weinstein has honored the memories of those who perished in the Holocaust by restoring dozens of string instruments that were played by Jewish prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. The instruments were recently played in a special concert by the Cleveland Orchestra. Serena Altschul has the remarkable story of the "Violins of Hope."

  • Violins of Hope

    Violins of Hope

    Video and live moment highlighting the Violins of Hope project created by master violin craftsman Amnon Weinstein. The project features violins that survived the Holocaust and that have been restored to concert-level condition in his Tel Aviv-based workshop.

Reading Recommendations

Book cover titled 'Violins of Hope' by James A. Grymes, featuring a black violin with barbed wire wrapped around its neck on a red background.

Violins of Hope: Violins of the Holocaust – Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind’s Darkest Hour.

James A. Grymes. Harper Perennial, 2014. ISBN 978-0-06-224683-7

A stirring testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of music, Violins of Hope tells the remarkable stories of violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, and the Israeli violin makers dedicated to bringing these inspirational instruments back to life.

During the Holocaust, the violin – long key to Jewish cultural life – assumed extraordinary roles within the Jewish community. For some musicians it was the instrument of liberation and for others the instrument of survival. For many it was the instrument of comfort in humanity’s darkest hour. At least once it helped avenge murdered family members. Above all the violins of the Holocaust represented strength and optimism for the future. Today these instruments serve as memorials to those who perished and testaments to all who survived.

Behind each of these violins restored by father-and-son luthiers Amnon and Avshi Weinstein, who themselves lost many relatives in the Holocaust, is a uniquely fascinating story. Together they make up an insightful, moving, and achingly human book.

Close-up of a wooden violin with a dark background, featuring two star inlay decorations on the body and the fingerboard extending across the image. The text overlay reads 'Violins and Hope,' with additional smaller text 'From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall,' 'Daniel Levin,' and 'Foreword by Franz Welser-Möst.' There is a gold circular emblem in the top right corner with the initials 'IP' and a ribbon stating 'Gold' and 'Book Awards'.

Violins and Hope: From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall.

Daniel Levin. George F. Thompson Publishing, 2021.

Doc­u­men­tary and con­cep­tu­al art pho­tog­ra­ph­er Daniel Levin trav­eled to the work-shop of Israeli luthi­er Amnon Wein­stein, the founder of the renowned Vio­lins of Hope pro­gram, to explore this great man’s life’s mis­sion. In doing so, he uncov­ered not only beau­ti­ful pho­to­graph­ic rep­re­sen­ta­tions of Amnon’s process­es of restora­tion of del­i­cate vio­lins that mirac­u­lous­ly sur­vived the Holo­caust, but his inti­mate work­shop as well.

With Vio­lins and Hope From the Holo­caust to Sym­pho­ny Hall, Levin has brought the work­shop out of itself, to be seen by the world for the very first time. Levin’s research led to extra­or­di­nary sto­ries that include fig­ures such as Bro­nis­law Huber­man, Ger­man For­eign Min­is­ter Frank-Wal­ter Stein­meier, Joshua Bell, Shlo­mo Minz, Arturo Toscani­ni, Johannes Brahms, and even actors Daniel Craig, and Adrien Brody, each whose lives are inex­tri­ca­bly inter­twined with Weinstein’s.

Illustration of a music store named 'Violin of Hope' with two adults and a child inside. The store has violins hanging on the walls and displayed on shelves. One adult is handing a violin to the child, while the other adult stands nearby. The scene is viewed through a large window with three arched sections.

Violin of Hope Hardcover Picture Book, November 5, 2024

By Ella Schwartz (Author), Juliana Oakley (Illustrator)

Based on the true story of luthiers who repair Holocaust-era violins.

Papa plays beautiful music on the violin, sometimes quick and lively and sometimes slow and sorrowful. But one night, there is a pounding on the door and a Nazi soldier snatches the violin away. The violin is silent for years until a luthier finds it and says, “I can fix you.” Then a man comes to the shop and buys the violin for his son. In the boy’s hands, the violin feels familiar, like a melody remembered from long ago.

Interest Level: Grade 1 - Grade 5

Reading Level: Grade 3