Many books have been written about concentration camps and the suffering of those imprisoned in them. Within the multitude of the stories told, some find slightly different angels to this, the probably biggest tragedy of humanity.
The Auschwitz Violin tells of Daniel, a young violin builder, who has a moment of bravery and speaks up on behalf of a violinist, who gets punished for making unpleasant music. Daniel knows that the musician was not to blame but the violin he was playing had a small tear in its body that caused the sound to be off.
After fixing the instrument he is then commissioned (or rather, ordered to) build a violin for a camp commandant. It is through this new/old job that he finds the courage and strength to carry on. It is also a way to find moments of peace and beauty in the everyday horrors.
This is a rather slender volume and quickly read. Nonetheless, very interesting.
7/10
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