Zofia Czajkowska

Zofia Czajkowska (4 August 1905, Tarnów – April 1978, Tarnów) was a Polish musician chosen to be the first conductor of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz.[1][2]

Czajkowska had been a music teacher, prior to her arrest as a political prisoner.[3] According to Susan Eischeid, author of The Truth about Fania Fénelon and the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Czajkowska was regarded by many as an "unexceptional musician", which caused problems with the development of the orchestra.[4] Like the other musicians in the orchestra, Czajkowska was a captive, whose service in the orchestra helped prevent them from being murdered. In July 1943 Alma Rosé, a talented musician, and niece of Gustav Mahler, arrived in the camp and took over leading the orchestra.[1][2] Czajkowska served as Rosé's lieutenant.[3]

References

  1. Susan Eischeid (2016). The Truth about Fania Fénelon and the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Springer. pp. 18, 34, 57. ISBN 9783319310381. Retrieved 7 December 2019. Survivor Helen Tichauer, who worked in the Camp Office and also played mandolin in the camp orchestra, questions whether this incident could have happened.
  2. "Zofia Czajkowska". Musique et Shoah. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. Birte Hundhammer (2007). "Funktionen von Lagerorchestern am Beispiel des Frauenorchesters Auschwitz-Birkenau" [Functions of camp orchestras on the example of the women's orchestra Auschwitz-Birkenau]. Hausarbeit (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2019. Zu den ersten Frauen, die sich meldeten, gehörte die seit einem Jahr inhaftierte politische Gefangene Zofia Czajkowska, die zuvor in ihrem Heimatland Polen als Musik- und Gesangslehrerin tätig gewesen war.
  4. Brown, Kellie D. (2020). The sound of hope: music as solace, resistance and salvation during the Holocaust and World War II. McFarland. p. 44. ISBN 978-1476670560. Regardless, all seem to agree that Zofia Czajkowska proved an unexceptional musician, which limited the progress of the orchestra.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.