Hermann Kruk, who was initially against the theatre, wrote in his diary on 8 March 1942,
And even so, life is stronger than everything. Life is once again pulsating in the Vilna Ghetto. In the shadow of Ponary life is happening and there is hope for a better morning. The concerts that were initially boycotted are accepted by the public. The halls are full. Literary evenings are full and the great hall cannot hold everyone who comes.
The musical world created in Vilna by the dedication of young musicians like Durmashkin was to come to an abrupt and bloody end. In January 1943, a year after the first theatre concert to commemorate the mass murders at Ponar, the ghetto soprano Lyube Levitski was rehearsing her role for an upcoming opera under Durmashkin's direction. Levitski was caught smuggling food into the ghetto for her sick mother, and was arrested and killed. Shortly afterwards, during the liquidation of the ghetto, Durmashkin was deported to Klooga concentration camp in Estonia. Tragically, he was killed the day before the camp was liberated.
Fania and Henny survived and were liberated by American soldiers after a death march from Dachau in the spring of 1945. They became part of the Displaced Persons Orchestra in St Otillien, a Bavarian town where refugees were interned from 1945 to 1948. Known at first as the "Orchestra of Survivors" and later as the "Ex-Concentration Camp Orchestra", the orchestra became famous in Europe and abroad for its stirring arrangements of popular Yiddish and Hebrew music. Among its fans were David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meier. Henny, who was fluent in eight languages, became known for her vocal performances.
In a poignant turn of events, conductor Leonard Bernstein asked for special permission to conduct the orchestra. He joined them for three concerts: one in Munich and two in the Landsberg and Feldafing refugee camps, which had been subcamps of Dachau. Bernstein accompanied Henny on piano, insisting that she sing in Hebrew rather than Yiddish.
The orchestra's performance at the Nuremberg Opera House attracted the attention of the international media, who were in the city to cover the war crimes trials. To highlight the brutality of the Nazis, the orchestra members, whose physical scars were still visible, wore the tattered remains of their concentration camp uniforms on stage.
Henny emigrated to the United States in 1949, meeting her future husband Simon Gurko on her voyage. Although she rarely performed in public after leaving Europe, she and Fania recorded an album entitled Songs to Remember, a collection of Holocaust, Hebrew and Yiddish music that continued to be played on Yiddish radio stations in Israel and elsewhere.
Henny later completed her interrupted education, earning degrees from the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University. She went on to work as a Hebrew school teacher.
Wolf Durmashkin's musical journey, though bright and tragically short, left an indelible mark on those who knew him and heard his work. Two striking images capture the essence of his commitment to music even in the darkest of times: one shows him standing proudly in front of the Vilna Ghetto Orchestra, arms folded as if defying the walls that imprisoned them; the other portrays him posing with the Vilna Choir, a visual reminder of the cultural life he fought to preserve.
From child prodigy to conductor of the Vilna Philharmonic, Wolf's talent was undeniable. When the Nazis occupied Vilnius, his musical skills earned him a precarious privilege - the freedom to move in and out of the ghetto. Wolf used this opportunity not only to perform, but also to resist. By smuggling a piano into the ghetto, he ensured that Jewish cultural life could continue, offering moments of solace and beauty in the midst of unimaginable hardship.
Wolf's story is one of courage and creativity in the face of oppression. His efforts to maintain musical performances in the ghetto, his involvement with the partisans and his unwavering commitment to his art to the end speak to his character and passion. The fact that he was killed just hours before liberation adds a poignant note to his story.
Although Wolf's life was cut short, the images of him conducting and leading choirs serve as powerful visual reminders of his dedication. They capture moments when music transcended the harsh realities of the ghetto, offering glimpses of humanity in inhuman circumstances. These photographs, together with the memories of those who knew him and the music he created, ensure that Wolf Durmashkin's contribution to music and culture during one of the darkest periods of history will not be forgotten.
Sources
Kalisch, S. & Meister, B., 1985. Yes, We Sang! Songs of the Ghettos and Concentration Camps, New York: Harper and Row.
USHMM Photo Archive (biographical information)
Hermann Kruk, A Diary in the Vilna Ghetto, p.195
