Never again the horror of the Holocaust: Pope Francis

Vatican City, 28 January 2014: ‘Never again the horror of the Holocaust’ wrote Pope Francis on Monday on the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day which is marked on January 27. In the hand written letter to his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires, the Pope described the Holocaust as a horror and a disgrace to humanity that must never be repeated. The letter was read out on Monday evening at a concert entitled “Violins of Hope”, at Rome’s Parco della Musica commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Pope wrote that the audience would be hearing pieces including works by Barber, Vivaldi and Beethoven, but he stressed that behind the sound of music, the hearts of each of those present would be able to make out the silent sound of tears.

To add to the poignancy of the evening, twelve violins and a cello that survived the Holocaust were played together for the first time at the concert in Italy. The instruments were discovered and restored by Israeli violin maker Amnon Weinstein.

Among them is a violin that accompanied the deportees to the gas chambers of Auschwitz and another one thrown from a train en route to the camp. There were also the violins of Jewish musicians who left Germany in 1936 to go to form the Philharmonic Orchestra of Palestine, and Israel. Significantly, the violinists were representatives of the three monotheistic religions, emphasizing the power of music to unite beyond all boundaries, and to give hope to even the most terrible trials.
Source: VR Sedoc