In 1943, an orchestra was formed among female prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau by German SS officers. Nearly fifty women and girls from various nations were hastily gathered to create a band that performed marching music for other inmates and forced laborers. They endured harrowing conditions but were also obligated to give regular concerts for Nazi officers. This orchestra was notable for being the only all-female ensemble in any of the Nazi camps, and for many participants, it provided a means of survival.

The narrative explores the role of music in such a dire context, delving into the psychological impacts on the women whose lives depended on their involvement in this Nazi propaganda effort. It raises profound moral questions about the experience of providing comfort to those responsible for the genocide that had taken their loved ones. In The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, Anne Sebba thoughtfully examines these complex issues using detailed archival research and unique first-hand testimonies, revealing the full and remarkable story of the orchestra and its members, as well as the reactions of fellow prisoners for the first time.

About the Speakers

Anne Sebba is a historian and acclaimed biographer, beginning her career with Reuters in London and Rome. She has authored eleven non-fiction books, focusing primarily on influential 20th-century women, and her works have been translated into multiple languages. She frequently appears on television and radio, including having presented BBC radio documentaries about musicians.

Among her notable achievements is the international bestseller That Woman, a widely praised biography of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, alongside the prize-winning Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved and Died Under Nazi Occupation. Her latest book, Ethel Rosenberg, the Short Life and Great Betrayal of an American Wife and Mother, was nominated for the Wingate award. Anne holds a fellowship at the Royal Society of Literature, serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, and is a trustee of the National Archives Trust, residing in London.

Daniel Finkelstein is the grandson of Alfred Wiener, a German Jewish scholar and activist who established the Wiener Library in 1933 to alert the world to the dangers of Nazism. He writes a weekly political column for The Times and previously served as an adviser to Prime Minister John Major. In 2013, he was appointed to the House of Lords.