Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson escaped a death march by playing music.
Posted on 05/13/2012 9:41:47 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson's name is etched on the wall of a stark underground memorial in Ukraine, next to that of her sister, Frina, their parents and grandparents. She was presumed dead, like the 16,000 other Jews from Kharkov who perished under the Nazis in the winter of 1941.
Only, Dawson survived, as did her sister.
They lived through the Holocaust, saved solely by their musical genius. Dawson's son Greg believes his mother and aunt are the only two Jewish survivors from Kharkov.
He came upon their names at the memorial in 2006 when he visited Ukraine to write a book about his mother, "Hiding in the Spotlight." After the war, she made a successful life for herself as an accomplished pianist in the United States and had kept silent on her history for many years until her sons had grown up.
Seeing her name came as a shock to Greg Dawson. He remembers his finger freezing upon the Russian lettering; shivers shooting up his spine.
How narrowly she had escaped death, he realized.
On this Friday evening, Greg Dawson, a writer for the Orlando Sentinel, is visiting his mother in Atlanta. The city's Oglethorpe University is honoring her Saturday with a doctor of letters. She will don a cap and gown and march down the aisle along with another honoree, CNN founder Ted Turner.
It is recognition for a woman who played the piano in the vein of Vladimir Horowitz but with the modesty of an unknown. Recognition for a triumph of spirit amid the worst of humanity.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson escaped a death march by playing music.
classical music ping
Thank you for posting this. The stream of her selection from Chopin at the original article speaks volumes.
In respecting her genius, her God -given gift, the Nazis exposed the shame of their racism ... if Jews were susch low beings, why had they so many geniuses in our midst? Such is the way Evil inveigles a population. If we pay attention, it is happening right here in America!
BTTT for tomorrow...thanks for the links.
afraidfortherepublic, thanks for the thread!!!
What slays me is how todays idiot neo Nazi skinheads claim to be for the white race and white power and at the same revere Hitler. Hitler murdered more white people than perhaps anyone in history except Stalin. Look at that woman’s photo. She is definitely white as were almost all the millions of European Jews Hitler murdered. Not to mention the millions more whites who died in all white European countries in the War.
Too bad she has to accept this award standing next to Ted Turner. The idiot who married a traitor.
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If you read the article, they escaped the death march by pretending to be orphans from Russian parents — used fake names and said their father was a dead Red Army officer. IOW, the Nazis did not know the children were Jewish. She talked about how she and her sister practiced and practiced their fake names and birthdates so that they’d always answer correctly when asked by authorities. All this in answer to their father’s admonition to “Live”!
What is really so sad is that until a few years ago she never told anybody about these experiences. She hid them from her own children.
Thank you for the links — especially the one eabout the people who helped these young ladies escape. This story adds new meaning to a parent’s old admonition — “Practce your piano!” Well, it could save your life.
For those unfamiliar with Chopin's titles, it's the familiar "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" piece.
I can't remember the composition better played, ever! Great virtuosity, technical skill......with an intuitive mix of both the delicacy and power found in so many of Chopin's works.
I recall a couple years ago a freeper classics afficionado posted a photo of Chopin. There are only two photos and a death mask existing that we know of (circa 1849).
I remember being totally blown away that there actually exists photographic likenesses of the great composer.
If anyone has access to and can post one or both of these photos I'm sure many freepers would be grateful, as was I.
Leni
When Rudolf Hoess, the Kommandant of Auschwitz, wrote his memoirs while awaiting his execution, the thing he noted was how he saw that the Jews that he was condemning to death were for the most part indistinguishable from regular Aryan Germans, and how horrified he was knowing this, even though he carried on his duties. German Propaganda had painted a picture of Jews as some kind of alien race, when in fact, most did look like Aryans themselves.
And to me when I see a picture of Joe Goebbels, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked pretty Jewish to me.
Thanks for posting one of Chopin's two known photographs. Very nice (and quick!) of you.
The only other known photo is a daguerreotype and is of poor quality.
At the time of the above portrait, Chopin was living and writing at the country home of his patroness, the French author, George Sand.
In this photo, he's already showing the latter ravages of pulmonary TB, or, as some experts now say, possible cystic fibrosis.
Facial analysts say that the photo displays Chopin's very keen intellect, determination and vision.
The great musician, and my favorite romantic composer, died in 1849 at age 39 in France. He was penniless. However, France gave him a funeral ceremony and cortege comparable to that of royalty.
Chopin is buried in Paris and his grave is covered with flowers from the public every day, summer and winter.
His heart was removed at death, and according to his dying wish is entombed in a Catholic cathedral in his native Poland.
Leni
From “The Pianist”
Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4zh-KGabq4&feature=related
and prolly live with survivors guilt to this day... may God bless them
The screen got a little blurry......
Leni
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