Type of Submission

Podium Presentation

Keywords

World War II, music, concentration camps, Jewish culture

Abstract

Music was a constant and crucial component of everyday life in World War II concentration camps. In the concentration camps, there were many genres of music performed and written by victims of German brutality. The Germans used the power of music in the concentration camps as a way to degrade and torture the victims. On the other hand, World War II concentration camp victims used music as a response of the perception to the reality of daily life. It was also used as a coping mechanism and a way to provide the strength to survive on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore, music was key to Jewish cultural survival during the war. Music also demonstrated the victims' will to create that could not be destroyed. Finally, music served as a reminder of ones humanity to the concentration camp victims.

Faculty Sponsor or Advisor’s Name

Sandra Yang

Campus Venue

Stevens Student Center, Room 246

Location

Cedarville, OH

Start Date

4-16-2014 2:20 PM

End Date

4-16-2014 2:40 PM

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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Apr 16th, 2:20 PM Apr 16th, 2:40 PM

The Sound of the Silence: Music in World War II Concentration Camps

Cedarville, OH

Music was a constant and crucial component of everyday life in World War II concentration camps. In the concentration camps, there were many genres of music performed and written by victims of German brutality. The Germans used the power of music in the concentration camps as a way to degrade and torture the victims. On the other hand, World War II concentration camp victims used music as a response of the perception to the reality of daily life. It was also used as a coping mechanism and a way to provide the strength to survive on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore, music was key to Jewish cultural survival during the war. Music also demonstrated the victims' will to create that could not be destroyed. Finally, music served as a reminder of ones humanity to the concentration camp victims.

 

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