Customer Reviews

Bach in Auschwitz [VHS]

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4 star:		(2)
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I read the book Playing For Time and was delighted to see that there was a video of the actual people describing their experiences playing music while people were executed in Auschwitz. The video is an excellent documentary of the women's experiences. The book is more critical of the orchestra's leader, Alma Rose than the the women describe in the video. A new book entitled Alma Rose might add more information to the total story. The video is very interesting but has periods that are long and uneventful. This was a horrible time in our world's history. I am delighted that we have this record of the trials that these women experienced so that perhaps this kind of thing will never happen again. I recommend that you purchase this video along with the books, Playing for Time and Alma Rose.

I saw this on TV and wanted to order it for my video collection. I will transfer it to a DVD. This is so interesting when you think of how young these women were when they played in their orchestra at Auschwitz. I also ordered on DVD "Playing For Time" with Vanessa Redgrave because I felt they sort of went together. My family were fascinated by both videos.

I'm surprised this documentary isn't out on dvd. It plays on the Arts channel frequently but it is not encouraging to watch because (1) there are frequent commercial interruptions and (2) it is heavily subtitled so I frequently give it a miss which must be terrible for Jews to read. There doesn't seem to be any storytelling devices employed, it's just straightforward filming of the women speaking about their experiences. I think that we have been boxed in by how we are taught about the Holocaust. I don't think this is about what happened to the Jews. I think this is about knowing where the large organized group of mass murderers are residing at this moment. I think the Jews just caught it first and they caught it HARD. They're the canary down the mine shaft. I am not interested in military history or the Holocaust. I am interested in fashion, movies, swing music, child rearing and the business of consumer goods but I have to be worried about mental health and the truth about crime today. There are certain places and cultures on the planet that look ... amiss, where something just doesn't ring true. As an outsider, I say, look, you and your families were kidnapped, trapped, tortured and murdered and they LIKED doing it. It wasn't because they were forced to do it. By any other name, everything was done just to be evil. I see a documentary like Bach in Auschwitz and I wonder at how the victims seem to be so alone like this is Jewish problem. It's about crime. I can't demand that the survivors tell their story in a certain way that I prefer because it would hit the pulse points about what the thing is - the absolute value of it.


p.s. The sexual torture of Nazi Germany's victims is rarely talked about, getting lost in the great weight of the accumulation of their crimes. In this documentary, one of the witnesses describes how the Germans would gang rape women and force the other prisoners to watch. These incidents were called "orgies" just as the rape victims were called "prostitutes." Joy Division, indeed. Another echo of their tag team partner in Asia. Comfort Women, indeed.

While reviewing the video, Bach in Auschwitz, I made a reference to a book entitled Alma Rose. The book that should be listed is Alma Rose : Vienna to Auschwitz.