Israel's Holocaust violin restorer honored for his service

Last month, renowned violin maker Amnon Weinstein, who restores violins that belonged to Holocaust deportees, was awarded the Legion of Honor in Israel. 

i24NEWS had the privilege of meeting this man who brings violins out of oblivion, giving them new breath to allow them to play through the ages.

It was in the heart of Tel-Aviv that Amnon Weinstein set up his studio, which looked like a real Ali Baba's cave in the 2000s, and built up the "Violins of Hope" collection, which today counts nearly 120 instruments.

In this timeless place, Amnon repairs the violins that reach him. In 90 percent of cases, they are unusable and marked by time: broken, cracked, some even contain ashes… It takes him between three months and two years to restore a violin to working order.

"When I receive the violins, I try to put my emotions aside, but when I hear their story, it's amazing, sometimes I can't even touch them. For me, the most important thing is when the violin is finished and it is played again for the first time." 

"Although today I am used to it, it is something that impresses me every time. It is crucial that these violins speak for six million Jews: never forget," Amnon Weinstein told i24NEWS.

A passion passed down from father to son

In 1938 Amnon's father, a luthier, arrived from Poland with his wife in Israel. Inspired by his father, Amnon worked with wood from the age of 17 and quickly understood that violin making was a real vocation. After his service in the Israeli army's military orchestra, he studied at an art school in Israel then joined the Cremona school in Italy, before becoming a pupil of the famous French luthier, Etienne Vatelot.

Amnon's excellence would be recognized throughout his career with numerous awards, including the Anne Frank Award and the Ole Bull Award.

In the years 1985, Amnon organized the very first concert of the "Violins of Hope" in the synagogue of Istanbul with 4 violins restored in Israel. Since then, the collection has grown and all concerts are sold out.

Violins of various origins

Some violins belonged to Jews deported during the Holocaust and were found in the camps by survivors or by American soldiers after the Liberation. Others passed through the hands of Jewish musicians who played in the best orchestras in Europe before being driven out by the Nazis in 1936. 

"It's painful to receive these violins because you automatically think of all the things they've been through that they can't relate. When you give them the ability to speak through the music, it's beautiful," Amnon asserted.

Finally, some violins dating from the 19th century belonged to Klezmer musicians who played in the villages of central Europe. They also asked the cabinetmakers to engrave a Star of David in the wood of the instrument. These violins reflect the exile of the wandering Jew. 

"A violin becomes better once it's restored and that's the greatest revenge in history," Benny Boret, producer of "Violins of Hope," told i24NEWS.

A decisive meeting 

Benny Boret has been organizing concerts for 30 years in Israel, mostly classical music in historic sites, on key dates like the 3,000 years of Jerusalem. Fifteen years ago, when he thought he had already explored everything, fate surprised him once again.

He received a phone call from his father, himself a Holocaust survivor, telling him that a concert had been organized at the Salle Gaveau in Paris with luthier Amnon Weinstein. Benny then begins a real quest to find the one who will change his career forever.

"With Amnon, there was a human adventure that symbolized everything we felt. The violin is one of the most fragile instruments, but despite this, these violins that have seen it all have survived: they are like our people," said Benny Boret. 

"When I entered his studio, I was bewitched, I found everything I loved: our history and music. Through the violins I understood that we could leave something to future generations: hope," he said.

The two men then thought about the best way to bring the instruments back to life.

"These violins will thus vibrate again all the time. The hope is to hear them play again. They wanted to silence us, but they are still playing," assured Benny Boret.

The biggest concert of the "Violins of Hope" for the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel 

In 2007, Benny Boret was contacted by a minister who asked him to prepare a grand event for the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel a year later. It was obvious to him: "the Violins of Hope" will be there.

With Amnon, he set up the biggest concert of the "Violins of Hope" at the foot of the walls of Jerusalem, in front of nearly 3,000 spectators. 

Eighteen violins from the deportees played, some of whom played again for the first time on this occasion. One of them had been made by a luthier from Warsaw, who died in the fire in his workshop during the Holocaust. A total of 120 musicians, including the Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, took part in this majestic spectacle.

Unfortunately, the exact paths of all the violins could not be traced, but some have carried moving stories with them through the years, tales that live today through the instruments' voices.

Transmit the memory of the disappeared

A few weeks ago, Amnon received a very special violin that belonged to Gérard Lanier, a French Righteous Among the Nations - the name given to Gentiles who saved the lives of Jews during the Nazi extermination. Lanier's son brought the instrument to Amnon and happened to find a book in the workshop that had a photo of one of the children his father had hidden during the war. 

"The stories of the people I meet are compelling, they carry a meaningful legacy and it's an honor to have their violins in your hands," said Amnon.

Recently, Amnon also recovered a violin that had belonged to a young Jew from Poland, who never returned from the camps.

At the start of the war, he fled Poland and took refuge with a family in Belgium, with his only business being his violin. Shortly after, he was deported. His mother decided a few years later to offer the violin to her niece who would play the instrument in the family conservatory from time to time.

Before dying, the young man's mother told her niece the story of the violin. A story that will mark her so much that she did not dare touch it again. Wishing to mourn the instrument, she left it in its case accompanied by a bouquet of flowers. 

Decades later, seeing a report on television about Amnon, she decided to donate the violin to him so that it wouldn't end up sold in a flea market. On receiving the violin, Amnon was surprised to discover the dried flowers that had fallen inside the violin sticking to it, as a souvenir.

"These flowers will always be alive, it's a symbol of spring, of renewal. Besides, the first piece that will be played with this violin is Vivaldi's Printemps," Benny Boret told i24NEWS.

Bringing hope to life through extraordinary concerts

Today, the "Violins of Hope" give concerts around the world, most of them in the United States, organized by Amnon's son, Avshalom, and are sold out until 2025.

Each month, nearly 100 violins are exhibited in a museum in a different city in the United States. The schools come to see them, then a concert takes place in the auditorium. Performances are also given in synagogues and churches. Concerts have also been produced throughout Europe. 

In Israel, they take place every two years. In October 2017, the ex-wife of Manuel Valls, Anne Gravoin notably played with one of Amnon's violins during a concert at the Tel Aviv museum.

Amnon usually takes the stage before each concert and explains to the audience the history of the violins he has restored while handing them over to the violinists.

The next concert will be held in the fall in Paris for the 80th anniversary of the Vel D'hiv roundup - the largest single deportation of Jews from France during the Holocaust - with some of the violins holding a direct relationship with this dark date in history.

Caroline Haïat is a journalist with i24NEWS' French site