Symphony of the Holocaust:

Ojai Film Festival

October 31 – November 4, Ojai CA

a flyer for the LAJS concert "A World of Jewish Music"

The moving documentary Symphony of the Holocaust was nominated for Best Feature Documentary at The 2024 Ojai Film Festival.

The LAJS was proud to have been a part of this extraordinary film, which was honored with a Social Impact and Vision Award.

Symphony of the Holocaust is a “SunnStream Original” feature documentary about the life of master violinist and Holocaust survivor Shony Alex Braun, who used his experiences in the Nazi death camps to compose “Symphony of the Holocaust,” a haunting yet hopeful testament to the memory of the millions of Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II. After his miraculous survival, Shony composed over 200 works on his prized violin.

After his miraculous survival, Shony composed over 200 works on his prized violin. But Symphony of the Holocaust was his masterwork, and he longed to play it at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp where his nightmarish journey began. His hope was to fill the camp with the beauty of his music. Unfortunately, Shony died before he had the opportunity.

But now, Shony’s family has fulfilled his wish, by traveling to Auschwitz to play his symphony in front of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau gate – the very gate that so many Jews traveled through to their horrific deaths.

Symphony of the Holocaust features musical commentary by Maestra Green and performance footage of the LAJS featuring LAJS Founding Concertmaster Mark Kashper as violin soloist for the titular piece at our education concert Triumph of the Spirit: Holocaust Stories Through Music in collaboration with The Soraya.