Sweet Lorraine in Auschwitz
The Dark and Bright Sides of Humanity through Music and Memory

Playing, singing, and composing music, from classical to jazz, were important tools of hope and survival in the ghettos and concentration camps during World War II.

Frank Grunwald, survivor of five concentration camps, including Auschwitz, is an Indianapolis resident and piano accordion player. Frank’s vision for this program was inspired by the fact that he and his brother sang some of the 1920s and 1930s American jazz standards in Auschwitz to take their minds away from the horrific conditions they were facing.

Frank will open the evening playing Sweet Lorraine, and will introduce and perform each of the songs that follows. Woven into the program will be survivor testimony clips from the documentary We Shall Not Die Now, produced and directed by local musician, composer, and filmmaker, Ashton Gleckman.

Proceeds from the benefit concert go directly to support the JCRC’s Stand Up! Speak Out! initiative, which implements several programs that reduce hate and bigotry, combat antisemitism, support Holocaust education, promote respect in schools and on college campuses, and help Jewish youth and their families confront 21st century antisemitism in all its forms.