Lovingly Reconditioned Instruments are Part of Project That Celebrates Triumph of the Human Spirit Through Music

Holocaust Museum LA presents “Violins of Hope,” an exhibit featuring lovingly restored Holocaust-era violins that reflect the power and triumph of the human spirit. The exhibit, which opens November 21, 2021 and runs through  January 8, 2022, is part of Violins of Hope Los Angeles County, which uses a special collection of violins, violas and cellos to educate about the Holocaust.

“Violins of Hope” features instruments that survived the Holocaust, although many of their owners did not. Each one is accompanied by a unique story and was restored in Tel Aviv by violin-makers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein.

The museum will exhibit 13 of the more than 60 instruments that have been restored since the end of World War II, including a violin that was buried in a backyard during the war.  Another violin was smuggled by its owner Abram Merczynski into Auschwitz and then Dachau.  Both owner and violin survived and Merczynski subsequently gifted it to the son of the family who rented him a room.

Additional instruments will be used during performances by the participating Violins of Hope partners, including the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts and the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony.

The exhibit is supported by a generous grant from GROW @ Annenberg.

An opening event will be held at the museum November 21, 2021 at 2 p.m. . It will include a special performance on one of the restored instruments and a historical presentation by Susanne Reyto, Chair of Violins of Hope, Los Angeles County and remarks by Beth Kean, CEO, Holocaust Museum LA.

Reservations are required to both visit the museum and attend the opening event.  The opening event will have limited capacity.  For more information on the opening event visit: https://holocaustmuseumla.ticketleap.com/violins-of-hope/details

For more information on the exhibit, visit: https://www.holocaustmuseumla.org/post/violins-of-hope

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