Posts Tagged European History

Amnon Weinstein prepares a violin from the Holocaust for exhibit. He began restoring the violins in 1996 and now has 30 of them to display in an exhibit called "Violins of Hope."

Amnon Weinstein first encountered a violin from the Holocaust 50 years ago. He was a young violin maker in Israel, and a customer brought him an old instrument in terrible condition and wanted it restored.

The customer had played on the violin on the way to the gas chamber, but he survived because the Germans needed him for their death camp orchestra. He hadn’t played on it since.

“So I opened the violin, and there inside there [were] ashes,” Weinstein says.

Weinstein was horrified; were these incinerated remnants of concentration camp victims? The Nazis plucked Jewish musicians from arriving cattle cars and forced them to play as other prisoners went to their death. Hundreds of Weinstein’s relatives — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — died in the Holocaust. To handle one of those instruments was too much.

“I could not. I could not,” he says.

It was many decades later in 1996, when Weinstein was ready. He put out a call for violins from the Holocaust. One came from a survivor who played in the Auschwitz Men’s Orchestra.

UNC Charlotte music professor David Russell plays a violin that belonged to a member of the Auschwitz Men's Orchestra.

On a recent day, the violin was being played by David Russell, a music professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Russell and Weinstein are old friends, which is how Charlotte came to host the North American debut of Violins of Hope. Eighteen instruments are here; Russell says each carries the touch and playing style of its previous owner.

“When I play one of these instruments, I go through that same process of discovering what makes this instrument sound the best,” Russell says. “That means that I’m walking in their footsteps and their voice is actually heard by my playing of this violin.”

The violin was perhaps the most important instrument for the Jewish people, Weinstein says. He has restored more than 30 Holocaust violins, and many are inlaid with an intricate Star of David in mother-of-pearl. Orthodox Judaism forbade displaying portraits or sculpture, so Weinstein says violins often hung as art on the walls.

“Never [would you] see a Jewish house without an instrument on the wall. It was a kind of tradition,” he says.

Weinstein began collecting these violins to honor that tradition, but also to break the silence: His family never spoke of the Holocaust. Once, he asked about his grandfather and says his mother silently opened a book about the war and pointed to a pile of bodies.

The Auschwitz Men's Orchestra is seen here in an undated photo. Jewish musicians were forced to perform in Nazi concentration camps.

Weinstein then married Assi Bielski, whose father was a famous Jewish resistance fighter portrayed in the film Defiance. Weinstein was amazed how happily the Bielski family talked about the war.

“We are completely different in this way,” he says. “Her family killed Germans, by quantities, not by one. My family was all killed by the Germans.”

Bielski says her family was always very happy, and they were not humiliated.

“It’s the number tattooed on your arm that is a constant reminder of the humiliation,” Bielski says. “For us there was none of it.”

Weinstein says that perhaps what he’s doing with the violins is to make his life a little bit easier from “all [of] this heritage, which is unbelievable.”

The Violins of Hope are Weinstein’s resistance. They’re like tombstones, he says, for the thousands of Jewish instruments and musicians destroyed in the war.

You can listen to a documentary about Violins of Hope from member station WDAV here

NPR – “Violins of Hope”: Instruments from the Holocaust (found via the-seed-of-europe)

Soldier demonstrates his scar and pierced helmet, during World War I. This photograph would have made ideal propaganda material as its accompanying caption demonstrates. The soldier in the middle of the scene is happy and triumphant. Despite the bandaging on his head, he is still carrying all his equipment and looks ready for action. The story, helmet and resulting scar would probably have provided first rate barrack entertainment! [Original title reads: 'Saved by shrapnell [sic] helmet. This soldier, on the way to hospital after being bandaged at Field Dressing Station, shows the helmet which saved his life.’]

(National Library of Scotland)

Definition: To take from one to give to another.

Origins: The origins of this idiom is said to be from a popular 16th century legend. According to the legend, money was taken from the St. Peter Church in Westminster, London to pay for the repairs of the St. Paul’s Cathedral in Rome. The saying, however, was seen in print before the legend. Around 1382, the saying first appeared in “Select English Works” by John Wycliffe.

Ammer, Christine. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997, 542.
Cartoons via Cartoonstock.com

(via: the-seed-of-europe.tumblr; original source)

Definition: Not everything that looks expensive or precious actually is.

Origins: If you, like me, were raised on 90’s one hit wonders and the first thing that this phrase brings to mind is the refrain from Smash Mouth’s 1999 song, “All Star,” than I applaud your memory. However, I hate to be the one to tell you that the actual song words mean the opposite of this idiom. The refrain actually goes like this: “Hey now you’re an All Star get your game on, go play/ Hey now you’re a Rock Star get the show on get paid/ And all that glitters is gold/ Only shooting stars break the mold.” The song leaves out “not,” which changes the entire meaning and implies that all shiny precious things are just that. The origins for the saying “all that glitters is not gold” can be traced as far back as the 12^th century where French theologian Alain de Lille wrote a variant of the saying: “Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold.” After de Lille, other authors, poets and playwrights such as Chaucer, Cervantes, and Shakespeare have taken on the saying in various forms. The present form of the phrase originated in 1687 when English author John Dryden stated, “All, as they say, that glitters is not gold,” in The Hind and the Panther.

Hendrickson, Robert. Words and Phrase Origins. 3rd ed. New York: Facts On File, 2004, 18.
(cartoon)

A Valentine's illustration in Harper's Weekly, 1864

As a Holiday
From as early as the 4^th century B.C. to the 5^th century A.D. in Rome, young men partook in a popular pagan rite of passage to the god Lupercus. This tradition became known as Lupercalia and was held every year around February 15. Noel Lenski, a classics professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, discussed this pagan ritual in National Geographic. Lenski states that Lupercalia was a “raucous annual Roman festivals where men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips, and spanked young maidens in hopes of increasing their fertility.”

This rite of passage was still popular through the initial rise of Christianity. Early church leaders, however, sought to end this pagan tradition by popularizing a saint that would represent lovers. They looked to Valentine, a bishop, who had been martyred two hundred years earlier. Through St. Valentine, the church hoped to curb the festival. Not only did St. Valentine’s Day curb the pagan tradition, it lasted through centuries of religious, social and economic upheaval to become ingrained in popular culture today.

The Legend of St. Valentine

"Saint Valentine receives a rosary from the Virgin" by David Teniers III.

The legend of Valentine is that in 270 A.D. the emperor Claudius II issued a law against marriage. He wanted to expand the Roman Empire as far as he could but in order to do so, he needed a well-trained and focused army. Claudius believed that marriage clouded soldier’s judgment and emotions. If the man got married and made a home, he would be less likely to leave it for battle. Since Claudius wanted soldiers for the empire, he abolished marriage. This is where Valentine steps in. One of the legends has it that Valentine was the bishop of Interamna and invited young lovers to come to him and he would marry them in secret. When Claudius heard of Valentine, he tried to get Valentine to renounce Christianity. Valentine would not and on February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.

According to the legend, before Valentine’s death he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. Because he did not waver in his faith and refused to renounce it, he was given the power to restore her sight. Before he met his fate, he penned a farewell message to her and signed it “From Your Valentine.”

Valentine’s Day Cards
The giving and receiving of valentines is as old of a tradition as the holiday itself. Mid-February was traditional the time Roman men courted prospective mates. During courting, it was popular to give handwritten notes of affection on February 14. After the introduction of St. Valentine, the cards acquired that same name.

A lace valentine created by Esther Howland

The oldest existing valentines card is housed in the British Museum. In 1415, Charles, duke of Orléans, gave his wife a valentine while being held prisoner in the Tower of London.  The French nobleman was wounded and captured at the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Year’s War. [Zim’s Side Note: The Battle of Agincourt was the centerpiece of William Shakespeare’s Henry V. Charles, duke of Orléans appears in the classic play as well.] The valentine that Charles writes to his wife while in prison was not the typical happy-go-lucky valentine that we may be use to. Instead, the note was of somber yearning.

Je suis desja d’amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée…

I am already sick of love
My very gentle Valentine…

In America, the idea of Valentine’s Day was brought over with the new settlers. During the Revolutionary War and Civil War, valentines consisted of mostly handwritten notes and it was common for the soldiers to keep their loved one’s notes of affection close. Esther Howland, a printer and artist, was the first American publisher of valentines. In the 1870s, her elaborate handmade lace cards would cost between five to ten dollars. Some of her more intricate cards could sell for as much as thirty-five dollars. She became known as the “Mother of the Valentine.” The advancements in printing technology allowed for the mass production of valentines started in the early 1900s.

Next to Christmas, Americans buy more cards for Valentine’s Day than any other holiday. In a survey by the National Retail Federation, fifty-two percent of American buyers plan to send at least one card for Valentine’s Day. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 150 million greeting cards will be purchased this year (2012) alone in the U.S. While Valentine’s Day found its origins in rituals and legends, it has now become a staple in consumer culture and American culture.

Information
“Valentine’s Day,” history.com.
David Stewart White, “Historical Valentines in Europe,” examiner.com, January 19, 2011.
John Roach, “Valentine’s Day: Why Do We Celebrate It?” National Geographic, February 13, 2012.
Greeting Card Association, “Valentine’s Day Card Sales Hold Steady for 2012,” January 24, 2012.
Charles Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, New York: Harper, 1989, 50-52.

Photos
Harper’s Weekly illustration
“Saint Valentine” by David Teniers III
Esther Howland’s lace valentine

An illustration of the Roman road system.

Definition: Different methods will yield the same result.

Origins: The idiom, “all roads lead to Rome,” was being used as early as the 1100s. It was based off of the ancient Roman road system where roads radiated from the capital of Rome. The road system resembled spokes of a wheel as the picture above shows around the circle.

Ammer, Christine. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997, 12.

During his lifetime, Vincent van Gogh created around 900 paintings but, reportedly, only sold one painting, Red Vineyard at Arles.

Private Henry Tandey

During World War I, Henry Tandey’s actions during the Battle of Marcoing changed the course of  history. Tandey, a Private in the British Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, won the Victoria Cross for his bravery on the French battlefield. He not only captured a machine-gun nest but also led a bitter hand-to-hand combat battle between Allied and German forces.

Upon learning the wounded man’s identity years later, Tandey remarked, “If only I had known what he would turn out to be. When I saw all the people, women and children, he had killed and wounded I was sorry to God I let him go.”

Henry Tandey's heroism depicted in a painting by Italian artist Fortunio Matania.

It was reported that Hitler highly regarded Tandey and his decision to spare his life. So much so that Hitler acquired a large photograph of a painting of Tandey, by that time a war hero, carrying a wounded soldier. He hung it up at Berghof, his mountaintop residence located in Berchtesgaden.

Of course, like most fascinating stories, there are still some who doubt this event either entirely or with certain details. Some have speculated that this event happened earlier at the Battle of Ypres in October 1914 and not at the Battle of Marcoing in September 1918. The painting of Tandey by Fortunio Matania is based on his bravery during Ypres. The main argument is that since Hitler also fought at Ypres, the event occurred there. One thing not in doubt is that Hitler did indeed request and receive a photograph of the painting of Tandey and he did, in fact, hang it at Berghof. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain visited Hitler’s Berghof residence in 1938. He asked about the painting and Hitler reportedly said, “That man came so near to killing me that I thought I should never see Germany again. . . .”

Steve Crawford, Strange but True Military Facts, New York: Metro Books, 2010, 46-47.
Henry Tandey’s photo found here; Painting of Tandey by Fortunio Mantania found here.

Ring a Ring o’ roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.

Ring a Ring o’ roses, a child’s rhyming game, has entertained children for many years. Reportedly, the origins of this song and dance routine occurred during a dark time in history. From 1665-1666, the Great Plague of London decimated England. Within London, around 70,000 died, a large percentage of the city’s total population of 460,000.

The rhyme follows the effects of the plague in the following ways:

• Ring a Ring o’ roses – An early symptom of the plague was a red, circular rash.
• A pocket full of posies - One superstition was that posies would help protect against the disease, so they would carry the herb with them. It was also used as a fragrance against the disease’s smell.
• A-tishoo! A-tishoo! – Sneezing or coughing was one of the last symptoms before death. In later rhyme versions, Ashes! Ashes!, replaces this sentence. The bodies of plague victims were usually cremated, so this later adaption still works within the original idea.
• We all fall down - This last line states the final result of the plague - death.

Panati, Charles. Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. New York: Harper & Row, 1987, 196.

The Great Plague

Photos – Illustration; Black and White

"Napoleon Crossing the Alps" by Jacques-Louis David

Napoleon Bonaparte suffered from ailurophobia, the fear of cats.

Other political and military leaders who feared cats include Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.