Daliah Smagarinsky – Year 10

Violins of Hope

On Thursday 15 June 2023, the Year 10 students attended the play Violins of Hope at the Bondi Pavillion as part of our Jewish Studies course for the year, where we are studying the Holocaust.

The play depicted the story of Amnon Weinstein and his family, and their work as violin repairers. Originally from Poland, Weinstein’s parents immigrated to what was then known as Palestine, chasing their Zionist dreams. There, they built their family and were able to escape the horrors of the Holocaust. 

Though, they were not left untouched. Their families back in Europe were murdered, and never heard from again. This had a great impact on them and their children, changing their perspective on humanity as they began to hear stories of what happened. 

After the war, Jews were, understandably, unwilling to play German-made instruments. And so, they brought them to Amnon and his father, where they began collecting and restoring the invaluable instruments. As well as this, it commented on the relationship between Germans and Jews, showing how it took decades to regain any level of trust or willingness to communicate.

The play explored the power of music during and after the Holocaust, and how it was able to save lives. They shared several stories of many violins and their owners, and how these instruments held such value in the lives of survivors, their families and even those who we do not know the names of. 

We connect with the soul of the instruments’ owners through its music, it is like a voice.

And so, their memory may live on.

Even the set itself depicted the violins, bringing to life the many stories they hold.

It was a profound experience for us all, to think of the Holocaust through such a lens of creativity. It gave us all a new perspective on how differently the Holocaust can be interpreted, and how far its impacts extended, as well as the power music can hold.