Music under the Swastika: The Maestro and the Cellist of Auschwitz (DVD)

“Music? You can’t destroy that …” – Anita Lasker-Wallfisch

Why was classical music so important to Hitler and Goebbels? The film centres around two people who represent musical culture during the Third Reich – albeit in very different ways. Wilhelm Furtwängler was a star conductor; Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, the cellist of the infamous Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. Both shared a love for the classical German music. The world-famous conductor made a pact with Hitler and his henchmen. The young woman, brought to Auschwitz for being Jewish, was spared death for her musical talent. German music was used to justify the powerful position the Third Reich claimed in the world, and to distract listeners from Nazi crimes. This music documentary by Christian Berger features interviews with musicians like Daniel Barenboim and Christian Thielemann; the children of Wilhelm Furtwängler; and of course, 97-year-old survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. Her memories are chilling. Archive film footage, restored and colourised, brings the story to life, and bears witness to an agonising chapter in history.

A film by Christian Berger

Interviews with: Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, Kathrin and Thomas Ackermann, Daniel Barenboim, Albrecht Dümling, Sven Friedrich, Shirli Gilbert, Norman Lebrecht, Tobias Reichard, Christian Thielemann, Simon Wallfisch, Teresa Wontor-Cichy

Sound format: Dolby Digital 5.1
Picture: NTSC, 16:9
Audio languages: English, German, Spanish
Subtitles: English, German, French, Korean, Japanese
Booklet: English, German
Total running time: 86 mins