Alice Herz-Sommer, also known as Alice Herz (26 November 1903 – 23 February 2014), was a
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
-born
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
classical pianist, music teacher, and
supercentenarian
A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...
who survived
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...
. She lived for 40 years in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, before migrating to London in 1986, where she resided until her death, and at the age of 110 was the world's oldest known
Holocaust survivor
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
until
Yisrael Kristal
Yisrael Kristal (or Israel Kristal; born Izrael Icek Kryształ; he, ישראל קרישטל; 15 September 1903 – 11 August 2017) was a Polish-Israeli supercentenarian recognized in 2014 as the oldest living Holocaust survivor. After the dea ...
was recognized as such.
Early life
Aliza Herz was born in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, in the
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
(a part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
), to Friedrich and Sofie "Gigi" Herz. Herz's family was part of the small
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-speaking minority of assimilated
Jews in Prague, although Herz stated that she also spoke
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
. Her father was a merchant and her mother was highly educated and moved in circles of well-known writers. She had two sisters, including a twin sister, Mariana, and two brothers. Her parents ran a cultural salon where Herz, as a child, met writers including
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
and
Franz Werfel
Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and Poetry, poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''Th ...
, composers including
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
, philosophers, and intellectuals such as
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
. Herz once noted that "Kafka was a slightly strange man. He used to come to our house, sit and talk with my mother, mainly about his writing. He did not talk a lot, but rather loved quiet and nature. We frequently went on trips together. I remember that Kafka took us to a very nice place outside Prague. We sat on a bench and he told us stories."
["The Lady in Number 6 takes refuge in music"]
''The Gazette'', 31 January 2014.
by Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...
, ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', 26 November 2013["Oldest Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer, dies at 110"]
''Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'', 23 February 2014; accessed 13 November 2014. Herz's sister Irma was married to
Felix Weltsch
Felix Weltsch (6 October 1884, Prague – 9 November 1964, Jerusalem), was a German language, German-speaking Jewish librarian, philosopher, author, editor, publisher and journalist. A close friend of Max Brod, Ludwig Winder and Franz Kafka, h ...
, who was a prominent German-language Jewish philosopher, journalist, librarian, and
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
who later worked as a librarian in Jerusalem after his emigration from Austria.
Herz's older sister Irma taught her how to play the piano, which she studied diligently, and the Austrian-Jewish pianist
Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...
, a friend of the family, encouraged her to pursue a career as a classical musician, a choice she decided to make.
[ She went on to study under the Czech pianist Václav Štěpán (1889-1944) and at the ]German Academy of Music in Prague
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, where she was the youngest pupil.[ Herz married the businessman and amateur musician Leopold Sommer in 1931; the couple had a son, Stephan (later known as Raphael,] 1937–2001).[Greenberg, Louise. ] She began giving concerts and making a name for herself across Europe until the Nazis took over Prague, as they did not allow Jews to perform in public, join music competitions or teach non-Jewish pupils.
Second World War
After the invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
, most of Herz-Sommer's family and friends emigrated to Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
via Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, including Max Brod
Max Brod ( he, מקס ברוד; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a German-speaking Bohemian, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist.
Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is best remembered as the friend and biog ...
and brother-in-law Felix Weltsch
Felix Weltsch (6 October 1884, Prague – 9 November 1964, Jerusalem), was a German language, German-speaking Jewish librarian, philosopher, author, editor, publisher and journalist. A close friend of Max Brod, Ludwig Winder and Franz Kafka, h ...
, but Herz-Sommer stayed in Prague to care for her ill mother, Sofie, aged 72; both women were arrested and Sofie Herz was murdered in a concentration camp.[ In July 1943 Herz was sent to ]Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...
, where she played in more than 100 concerts along with other musicians, performing pieces by Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Schumann, and Chopin among other Czech composers for prisoners and guards.[ She commented of her performances in the camp:]We had to play because the Red Cross came three times a year. The Germans wanted to show its representatives that the situation of the Jews in Theresienstadt was good. Whenever I knew that I had a concert, I was happy. Music is magic. We performed in the council hall before an audience of 150 old, hopeless, sick and hungry people. They lived for the music. It was like food to them. If they hadn't come o hear us they would have died long before. As we would have.
Herz-Sommer was billeted with her son during their time at the camp; he was one of only a few children to survive Theresienstadt. Her husband died of typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
in Dachau
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
, six weeks before the camp was liberated.[
]
Later life
After the Soviet liberation of Theresienstadt in 1945, she and Raphael returned to Prague, and in March 1949 emigrated to Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, to be reunited with some of her surviving family, including her twin sister, Mariana.[ Herz lived in Israel for almost 40 years, working as a music teacher at the ]Jerusalem Academy of Music
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, until emigrating to London in 1986.
In London Herz-Sommer lived close to her family in a one-room flat in Belsize Park
Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England.
The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...
, visited almost daily by her closest friends, her grandson Ariel Sommer, and daughter-in-law Genevieve Sommer. She practised playing the piano three hours a day until the end of her life. She stated that optimism was the key to her life:I look at the good. When you are relaxed, your body is always relaxed. When you are pessimistic, your body behaves in an unnatural way. It is up to us whether we look at the good or the bad. When you are nice to others, they are nice to you. When you give, you receive.
She also declared a firm belief in the power of music: "Music saved my life and music saves me still... I am Jewish, but Beethoven is my religion."
Her son Raphael, an accomplished cellist and conductor, died in 2001, aged 64, of an aneurysm in Israel at the end of a concert tour. He was survived by his wife and two sons.[
Alice Herz-Sommer died in hospital in London on 23 February 2014, aged 110, after being admitted two days previously.]["Family: Alice Herz-Sommer, Believed World's Oldest Holocaust Survivor, Dies at Age 110"]
23 February 2014, ''ABC News'' Her death was confirmed by her grandson, Ariel Sommer. She is buried at the St Pancras and Islington Cemetery
St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, Camden (formerly St Pancras) and Isling ...
in East Finchley, north London. Throughout her long life, Alice Herz-Sommer continuously proclaimed:I am still grateful for life. Life is a present.
Media
''A Century of Wisdom: Lessons From the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer the World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor'' (2012), with an introduction by President Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
, was written about her life and translated in 26 countries. Herz-Sommer was the subject of ''A Garden of Eden in Hell'', first published in German in 2005 (reprinted in English as ''Alice's Piano'').
The BBC TV documentary ''Alice Sommer Herz at 106: Everything Is a Present'', written and produced by Christopher Nupen
Christopher Nupen (30 September 1934 – 19 February 2023) was a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians.
Early life and education
Nupen was born in South Africa on 30 Sep ...
, was first broadcast on BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 . She was featured on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...
'' in 2004 and in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', and ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. She was one of two subjects featured in the film ''Refuge in Music''.
''The Lady in Number 6
''The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life'' is an Academy Award-winning 2013 documentary-short film directed, written and produced by Malcolm Clarke.
''The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life'' tells the story of Alice Herz-Sommer, a German-s ...
'', filmed when Herz was 109, documents her life and won an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary.
The song "Dancing Under the Gallows", by Chris While
Chris While (born 1956) is an English songwriter, singer and musician, known particularly for her vocals and live performances. She has worked as a solo artist, a songwriter and as a member of a number of duos and groups. Her music is often cla ...
and Julie Matthews
Julie Matthews (born 1963) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. She has been a member of some of the most influential British folk duos and groups and is acknowledged internationally as a major songwriter ...
, from their 2014 album ''Who We Are'', celebrates the life of Alice Herz-Sommer.
References
Further reading
*Caroline Stoessinger (2012) ''A Century of Wisdom''. Random House
*Muller, Melissa and Piechocki, Reinhard (2007) ''A Garden of Eden in Hell: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer''. (First published in German under this title) Macmillan. Published in English as ''Alice's Piano: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer''.
External links
*
"Life is beautiful"
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 13 December 2006
"I look at the good"
''Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'', 21 January 2010
"I played Chopin as they sent my family to their deaths"
''The Jewish Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
''
"Alice Herz Sommer"
''Heart and soul'', BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
* The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life ", ''Documentary'', Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herz-Sommer, Alice
1903 births
2014 deaths
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century Czech people
20th-century English musicians
20th-century English women musicians
21st-century English musicians
21st-century English women musicians
British supercentenarians
Czech classical pianists
Czech Jews
Czechoslovak emigrants to Israel
Czech supercentenarians
Czech women pianists
English classical pianists
Israeli emigrants to the United Kingdom
Jewish classical pianists
Jewish English musicians
Musicians from Prague
People from Belsize Park
People from the Kingdom of Bohemia
Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors
Women supercentenarians
Women classical pianists
20th-century women pianists
21st-century women pianists