Results: The Arts and Holocaust Survivors
Published on 08/22/2019
QUESTIONS
GO to COMMENTS
Comments
1.
1.
If the Holocaust had succeeded in its evil intentions, humanity would have lost many wonderful contributions, not the least would be the arts. It's actually quite remarkable how many artistic geniuses were survivors or children/grandchildren of survivors. Did you know that these famous people were all Holocaust survivors?
Ruth Westheimer -- American sex therapist, media personality, and author best known as Dr. Ruth.
41%
726 votes
Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel -- Jewish-American professor and political activist, and author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps.
28%
489 votes
Roman Polanski -- director of seminal films like "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist". Although his personal lifeis in question, there is no denying his contribution to the arts.
34%
600 votes
Branko Lustig -- Academy Award-winning producer of films like "Schindler's List" and "Gladiator".
10%
180 votes
Robert Clary -- film, TV and stage actor best known for his role on the sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," set in a German POW camp.
14%
245 votes
Ruth Posner -- founding member of the London Contemporary Dance Company, actress and former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
6%
111 votes
None of them
58%
1019 votes
2.
2.
The list of children/and grandchildren of survivors is much longer, but if things had turned out differently, none of these talented people, who were all descendants of survivors, would be alive. How many of these connections were you familiar with?
Rush musician Geddy Lee's parents both survived concentration camps, though many other family members did not.
11%
189 votes
Both of director Miloš Forman's biological parents died in concentration camps. His adoptive father was sent to a concentration camp for distributing "forbidden" books.
7%
117 votes
Kiss's Gene Simmons's mother survived a concentration camp, but many other family members were killed.
21%
378 votes
The Ramone's Tommy Ramone had both his parents survive the Holocaust by hiding with neighbors.
9%
164 votes
Born in Czechoslovakia, director Ivan Reitman and his parents survived the Holocaust.
6%
109 votes
Both of talk show host Jerry Springer's grandmothers died at Nazi prison camps.
11%
198 votes
Many of actor Gal Gadot's ancestors died during the Holocaust. Her grandfather, who was only 13, survived the atrocities.
7%
124 votes
Director Steven Spielberg had a number of relatives who died during the Holocaust in Poland and the Ukraine. His loss fuelled his desire to focus on that time in many of his movies, especially Schindler's List.
24%
422 votes
Actor Mila Kunis, who was born in the Ukraine, lost many family members in the Holocaust, including her grandparents.
11%
200 votes
Red Hot Chili Pepper's guitarist Hillel Slovak was born in Israel to Holocaust survivors.
7%
118 votes
Knew all
2%
37 votes
None
75%
1329 votes
3.
3.
The arts, specifically music was a strong tool in many Holocaust survivors' lives during that dark time. Playing music in the ghettos and concentration camps not only fostered spiritual strength within themselves and others, but often proved a bargaining tool that spared their lives. A documentary that was released several years ago, They Played for Their Lives told this story that few had ever mentioned before. It is the story of how some musicians survived the camps, using their craft. From the documentary: "Chaim recounts how he saved his father from beatings, by teaching an SS officer to play the harmonica. Anita, who played cello in the Women's Orchestra in Auschwitz, was spared inhumane forced labor. And little Hellmuth whistled with the band in exchange for extra food and clothing. Each of these unique stories illustrate the power of music to sustain the human soul." Have you seen this documentary?
No
92%
1622 votes
Yes
13%
228 votes
I want to seek it out now
16%
274 votes
4.
4.
Ninety-four year old Holocaust survivor Saul Dreier discovered the power of music in an unlikely place, when he was imprisoned in a concentration camp in occupied Poland during the Second World War. Five years ago, he decided to return to music by creating a unique band, one that would be composed of Holocaust survivors and their children. The Holocaust Survivor Band has performed all over the world, including the U.S., Israel and recently in Brazil. A few of their members were actually in the camps, and several survived by escaping in time. Would you be interested in seeing them perform?
Yes
58%
1018 votes
No
58%
1016 votes
I have seen them
5%
90 votes
COMMENTS