Documentaries Uncover the Haunting Role of Music in Auschwitz

Two films explore how music was used by Nazis to dehumanize prisoners while also becoming a source of survival and rebellion for victims.

The BBC's 'The Last Musician of Auschwitz' examines the dual role of music in the concentration camp, as both a tool of Nazi oppression and a lifeline for prisoners like cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch.
Sky Arts' 'The Lost Music of Auschwitz' highlights British composer Leo Geyer's decade-long effort to reconstruct and perform music composed by Auschwitz prisoners, now played for the first time in 80 years.
Music was weaponized by the Nazis to enforce control, from orchestrated marches for forced labor to performances for SS officers, often stripping the art of its humanity.
Survivors recall the emotional complexity of music in Auschwitz, from its role in providing fleeting solace to its association with unspeakable atrocities, such as being forced to play during executions.
The documentaries emphasize the cultural loss inflicted by the Holocaust, while also preserving and honoring the resilience and creativity of the victims through their music.