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"Crying is Forbidden Here!

"
Women's orchestra of Auschwitz – New Testimony

In the dark world of 65 years ago, in the shadow of Auschwitz gas chambers and crematoria, a group
of women stood and played music. Rachela (Rachel) Zelmanowicz was there too, a skinny and
frightened girl. Her detailed testimony out of the "other planet" of death is published now.

Rachel Zelmanowicz was born in Bendzin, Poland, 8 October 1921. On September 1st 1939, a month
before her 18th birthday, war broke out. Her studies in the High school ended. Rachela lived in the
ghetto until she was deported to Auschwitz with her father and brother. Her father was murdered the
same day they arrived to Auschwitz, which was also his birthday.

A shy girl, who played the mandolin only in the elementary school, she was pushed by her brother's
fiancée to join the orchestra at Auschwitz, conducted by well-known violinist Alma Rose'. Alma and the
orchestra were the only chance of Rachela to escape certain death. Rachela played in great fear as
she never played. Outside, death raged as Dr. Mengele was selecting people, but in the Block the
orchestra was rehearsing. Her brother took part in the Sonderkommando prisoners' revolt, and was
murdered right after the failure of the revolt.

At the end of 1944 the Jewish girls of the orchestra were deported to Bergen-Belsen, where hunger
and disease were taking lives of tens of thousands of peoples. In April 1945 the British army released
the notorious camp, and started a fierce struggle to save the rest of the survivors from dying of
starvation and disease.

Rachela sought to immigrate to Palestine, but on her way she met Raphael Olewski, a handsome
young man of a distinguished rabbinical family from Poland. He was one of the prominent leaders of
the survivors of Bergen-Belsen. They married and gave birth to their daughter Yochi. In 1949 the
Zionist family came to Israel, and here was born their son Arie. The story of the women's orchestra
was unknown for years, until in the 1980s people started to deal with it in literarture, theater, radio
and TV. Some books, plays and opera told the story of these amazing women's group. The first book
was written in France by one of the survivors, later a play was written by Shmuel Hasfari, and
Hollywood produced a film with the British actress Vanessa Redgrave.

In recent years, an extensive academic research about "Women in the Holocaust" was witnessed.
Israeli Raanana Symphonette Orchestra dedicated concert series to the story of this special orchestra
and its legendary conductor, Alma Rose'.

Rachela Zelmanowicz-Olewski was interviewed by Yad Vashem and gave detailed testimony. Now her
son and daughter made the testimony public, translated it into English and added some fascinating
photos and documents, including a 60 years old "Hello from Hell" – an index working card of Rachela
recorded by the SS in Auschwitz.

The testimony sheds light on the fascinating phenomenon that took place in the darkness of "other
planet" of Auschwitz, and adds an authentic first-hand description for academic research in Israel and
abroad.

The first edition of testimony in Hebrew and English was published privately and was printed courtesy
of Bank Leumi at the Open University of Israel in Ra'anana.

ISBN 978-965-91217-2-4 in English September 2009

There is also a book in Hebrew.

Arie Olewski

P.O. Box 8199


61081 Tel-Aviv
Israel
E-Mail: ariolew@gmail.com

Arie Olewski, P O Box 8199, 61081 Tel-Aviv, Israel ariolew@gmail.com


RACHELA OLEWSKI Rachela and some of her friends started to
[ZELMANOWICZ] walk to Eretz-Israel. They reached as far
1921-1987 as 20 km, to Celle. There, at the office of
the Celle Jewish Committee, they met their
future husbands.

January 15th, 1946: Rachela [who was then


24 years old] married Rafael Olewski
[31], the first chairman of the Jewish
community of Celle after 1945, and a
prominent figure in the Jewish Central
Committee of Bergen-Belsen. The
wedding took place at the reconstructed
Celle synagogue, and the Rabbi who
Rachela married them was Rafael's brother, the
Zelmanowicz was born in October 8th, famous Celler Rabbi, Rabbi Israel-
1921 in Bendzin, Poland. Moshe Olewski.
She was a thin and spoiled girl, and had
very bad habits of eating [which later March 15th, 1947: Rachela gave birth to
helped her survive in Auschwitz…]. her daughter Jochi [Jochevet-Rivka], at
the Glyn-Hughes hospital in Bergen-
In September 1st, 1939, a month Belsen DP camp.
before her 18th birthday, the war
broke. April 3rd, 1949: Rafael, Rachela and Jochi
Her mother died while they were in the made Aliya to Israel.
Bendzin ghetto.
August 1st, 1943: her brother Dov was December 24th, 1950: Rachela gave birth
deported to Auschwitz. to her son [Yehuda] Arie.
August 3rd, 1943: Rachela and her father
were deported to Auschwitz. She was a loyal aid to her husband Rafael,
Her father Leibek was sent to the gas who was the Chairman of the Bergen-
chambers, on his 53rd birthday... Belsen survivors' Organization [She'erit
Rachela got a tattooed number on her left Hapleta] in Israel, and Vice-President of
arm – 52816, and was later pushed by her the World Federation of Bergen-Belsen
brother's girlfriend to join the women's survivors. He died in November 1981.
orchestra of Auschwitz, A-Lager, Block 15.
Rachela was 21 years old. Since then and April 1985: Rachela traveled with Jochi and
for 15 months she was playing the Arie to Germany and Poland, within the
mandolin to survive. [The conductor of the context of celebrating 40 years of
women's orchestra of Auschwitz was the liberation from Bergen-Belsen.
famous Alma Rose’, the daughter of
Gustav Mahler's sister Justine and of She arrived to Auschwitz and tried in vein
Arnold Rosé. Rosé had been the conductor to find her Block and her brother's letters
of a women's orchestra in her hometown to her, which she had hid near the block.
of Vienna.]
On October 7th, 1944, two days after he She also went to Bendzin and visited her
became 27, Rachela’s brother Dov was home in Malachowskiego st. 10.
killed while taking part in the Sonder-
Kommando's revolt. Rachela died of cancer at the age of
65 in August 17th, 1987.
November 2nd, 1944: The Jewish girls of
the women's orchestra were deported by
train to Bergen-Belsen.

April 15th, 1945: The British army


liberates Bergen-Belsen.

Arie Olewski, P O Box 8199, 61081 Tel-Aviv, Israel ariolew@gmail.com

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