How can there be music in the worst place in the world? The Last Musician of Auschwitz reveals how music became a lifeline and form of resistance amid the Holocaust's horrors.
At its center is 99-year-old cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, the last living survivor from the camp orchestras, whose testimony frames this powerful documentary. The film examines the SS's perverse relationship with music—forcing prisoners to perform for their entertainment and accompany slave labourers, turning art into another form of torture.
It also celebrates three other remarkable musicians—Ilse Weber, Szymon Laks, and Adam Kopyciński—whose compositions are brought to life in moving performances by contemporary artists, including Anita's son Raphael Wallfisch. Filmed in locations surrounding Auschwitz, these deeply emotional performances explore themes of loss, memory, and resilience.
Through this innovative approach, the documentary illuminates music's extraordinary power to preserve humanity in its darkest hour - offering not just testimony to suffering, but a profound spark of hope and defiance that continues to resonate today.
The Last Musician of Auschwitz■
Credits
Genre: Documentary
Rating: 15
Director: Toby Trackman
Stars: Jonathan Freedland, Petra Gelbart, Krzysztof Kulisiewicz