Martin Roman (23 April 1910 – 12 May 1996) was a

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 **Ge ...

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

. At the time of the Reichstag fire in February 1933, Martin was stopped by SS men at the entrance to the huge Vaterland emporium in Berlin, where his band, the Marek Weber Band, was employed. He left for the Netherlands. In January 1944 Roman was transported to

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

. In summer 1944 he was forced to participate in a propaganda film in Theresienstadt which the commandant Karl Rahm had coerced the actor

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German History of the Jews in Germany, Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he ...

to direct. Roman appeared leading his

Ghetto Swingers The Ghetto Swingers were a jazz band organised in the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt. The original amateur Czech band playing in the Café of the Ghetto was led by Eric Vogel and Pavel Libensky. Vogel petitioned the Kommandant on Janua ...

. When the filming was over Roman and Gerron were sent to Auschwitz, where Gerron perished.F. C. DeCoste, Bernard Schwartz ''The Holocaust's ghost: writings on art, politics, law, and education'', 2000 pg. 79.
"Hiding out in Amsterdam in a rented room in 1943, Berlin swing pianist Martin Roman was rudely awakened by a knock on the door one morning." Like jazz drummer and guitarist Coco Schumann, Roman survived. Gerron and clarinetist

Fritz Weiss Fritz Weiss (Czech: Bedřich Weiss) (28 September 1919 – 28 September 1944) was a jazz musician and arranger, active in the first half of the 20th century. He was an organizer of jazz performances and an important participant in the musical ...

of the Jazz-Quintet-Weiss did not. Roman's ''"Wir reiten auf hölzernen Pferden"'' was recorded on the album '' Terezín - Theresienstadt'', by

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swedis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Martin Musicians from Berlin German jazz pianists Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands 1910 births 1996 deaths 20th-century German pianists Ghetto Swingers members