October 4, 2017

"When Ms. Ruzickova was 15, the family received what the Germans called 'an invitation' to Terezin, which the Nazis considered a model concentration camp for the cultural elite."

"Her grandparents and father died of disease there. Within six months, she and her mother were shipped to Auschwitz in German-occupied Poland, where she survived the gas chamber twice — first after lying about her age, and then when the camp’s routine was upset by the Allied invasion on D-Day. She and her mother were then transferred to bomb-ravaged Hamburg, where she repaired oil pipelines, worked in a cement factory and dug tank traps. Early in 1945 they were shipped again, this time to Bergen-Belsen, a German concentration camp, where tens of thousands died from malnutrition and disease. She weighed 70 pounds and had malaria when the camp was liberated that April. With her hands badly damaged during the war, Ms. Ruzickova practiced 12 hours a day to catch up after it was over. She attended the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague from 1947 to 1951, when she gave her first harpsichord recital."

From "Zuzana Ruzickova, Leading Harpsichordist and War Survivor, Dies at 90" (NYT).

23 comments:

Michael K said...

A man freed from a camp in 1945 said, "If someone says he wants to kill you, believe him."

traditionalguy said...

The Nazi way to power was Eugenics. Defend the State by killing the other inferior races. And that is not a rare thought process today. White Men are the targets of Soros's State.

Susan said...

Judging by Twitter, if no white men are available any Republican will do.

PB said...

A very strong woman.

Rick said...

What must it have been like to first survive such a terror and then live with the aftermath 70 years? The horror.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Without naming names, there are some people here who seem to have hard feelings for Jews. The general bent seems to be that they are, what, reserved towards outsiders? Trying to take over the world? The cause of communism?

I'd just like to know if Ms. Ruzickova is who you are thinking of, or if it's some other wicked Jews.

AllenS said...

When the citizenship are deprived of arms to defend themselves against the state, this is what happens.

donald said...

She gets all the props lady. Every single one.

donald said...

Or to give this lady every single prop in the world.

donald said...

Well then.

Allen Edwards said...

Apropos this and several previous postings:

As the poets have mournfully sung,
Death takes the innocent young,
The rolling in money,
The screamingly funny,
And those who are very well hung.
[W. H. Auden ]

mockturtle said...

Bach is always welcome.

Sebastian said...

And then there was Alice Herz-Sommer, surviving to 110! A tough pianist.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I wish I had one tenth of that drive and dedication.

Etienne said...

Truth be told, all of Europe is a fucking cesspool. It's a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.

It could be, that 100 million Moslems could be a good thing. I'm sure they will get the languages straightened out.

My daughter has a facebook account (poor soul), and she was showing me this live video page. There's a little dot on the cities where there is a live video.

So I clicked on one in London. It was an Arab man with a rag on his head and preaching about something. ooof, so I clicked on Paris, and there was an Arab woman with her face wrapped in a colorful rag and spewing Arabic. It went on like that in every city.

Fuck me... It's like they're not even trying to stem the conquest.

Daniel Jackson said...

Her recital on the Youtube is simply incredible made all the more poignant knowing her history. What a powerful role model of rebuilding a triumphant life on the ashes of such horror.

May her memory be a living benediction to us all.

Anonymous said...

To create all that beauty after all the ugliness, how sublime.

Rabel said...

“Bach is very soothing,” Ruzickova told the BBC last year. “You always feel in his music that God is present somehow. And that, of course, helps.”

mockturtle said...

“Bach is very soothing,” Ruzickova told the BBC last year. “You always feel in his music that God is present somehow. And that, of course, helps.”

It may be because Bach dedicated all of his work to God's glory.

Etienne said...

Being sent to a concentration camp, is the same logic as being sent to a public school.

As if the public knows what's good for you.

Rose Wilder fought against public schools. She thought the concept was evil, and one day America would pay for such folly.

"Bullied NYC student stabs two classmates, killing one, and critically wounding another."

They are going to charge him with murder. I think they should give him a medal.

Rusty said...

traditionalguy said...
"The Nazi way to power was Eugenics. Defend the State by killing the other inferior races. And that is not a rare thought process today. White Men are the targets of Soros's State. "

Black babies are the target of Margret's Planned Parenthood. Hitler would be proud.

Wince said...

Rick said...
What must it have been like to first survive such a terror and then live with the aftermath 70 years? The horror.

I dunno. I think every second of life thereafter would be precious and sweet, if not bittersweet.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.