Program Description
Event Details
The women’s orchestra at Auschwitz-Birkenau, composed entirely of prisoners, was unique in the Nazi camp system. Dr. Susan Eischeid, who spent decades researching the orchestra and interviewing survivors, will present a history of the ensemble and dispel some of the myths surrounding it. She will also discuss conductor and virtuoso violinist, Alma Rosé, and founder, Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the women's camp and one of the worst perpetrators of the Holocaust. The Center of Jewish Studies at UNCA will provide twocopies of Dr. Eischeid's book, Mistress of Life and Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the Women's Camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau to be raffled off at the event. Raffle tickets will be free and provided to all.
About Dr. Susan Eischeid
Dr. Susan J. Eischeid is an author, musician, and teacher, specializing in the music of the Holocaust. Formerly Professor of Oboe at Valdosta State University, she has spent two decades researching the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She is the author of Mistress of Life and Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the Women’s Camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau (Citadel, 2024) and The Truth about Fania Fénelon and the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz-Birkenau (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Susan has also recorded and released an album of Holocaust music, Mystic Chords of Genocide, on the ACA Digital label. Learn more at www.seischeid.com