Yes, those Holocaust films and music are very necessary

By David Amos

David Amos

SAN DIEGO — I am sure that many of you, as I did, enjoyed one, several, or many of the wonderful offerings of this year’s San DiegoJewish film festival. Aside from the films I reviewed in my last column, I was able to see and appreciate other worthy features.

Luckily, this year, we were presented with several films related to music. Other areas of interest included documentaries of famous personalities, Holocaust-related themes, and others which dealt with Jewish tradition, history, and Israel.

But, we have to be aware that not all of these films were there to “entertain” us. Comedy, drama, and light music have their place, but where the Film Festival has excelled is in choosing films that portray the Jewish experience. I strongly feel that these insights are beneficial to be presented to Jews and non-Jews alike.

And here is where I see some disagreements. Many well-meaning people love serious music, poetry, literature, drama, dance, and the visual arts, but object to having somber subjects, such as the Holocaust and other sad events in the history of the Jewish people as part of their “entertainment”.

I have also been criticized in the past for bringing to the public through live concerts and commercial recordings subjects which may be painful to re-introduce. Yes, I know that for many, the constant and at times incessant reminders of the Holocaust may be intrusive. Someone once told me, “Yes, we are aware of all the tragedies and atrocities, but when I go to a movie or a concert, I don’t want to be reminded. Enough is enough!”

But, that is the exact point which I am making. Yes, many of us are painfully aware of all the carnage and atrocities, but we have to admit that our children know about it and are disturbed by it less than we are, And our grandchildren, even less. Think to where this is leading in a few generations in the future. What is to us a strong, vivid emotion will become practically non-existent chapter in history. Certainly not to the intensity that we have today. Time has the tendency to dilute many memories.

And, as it is natural, for non-Jewish people who are not in the cultural and information networks to which most of us are exposed, these subjects are even more foreign, and to many, unknown at all, (Say nothing of the Holocaust deniers).

You can leave it to the history books (and internet sources) for others to receive this information, or better, through the arts.

Last week, I was preparing for two public events: My live presentation to the films Amnon’s Journey  and I Will Not Die at the Film Festival, and the research into my next concert with the TICO Orchestra, titled “Hebraic Voices” for April 1 and 3.This program will highlight four aspects of the Jewish experience, tradition (with Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes), history (with Morton Gould’s Suite from the Television Series Holocaust), worship (Max Bruch’s Kol Nidre), and spirit (Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo).

In doing this research, I was looking into the tragic events in the ravine outside Kievin September 29 and 30, 1941. We recognize that massacre as Babi Yar. In two days, 33,771 Jews were murdered by the Nazis.

Although history had already recorded what happened there, the world really took notice when the Russian poet Yevgeni Yevtushenko wrote his famous epic poem Babi Yar.

Years later, in 1961, when the poem was published, the celebrated Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich read Yevtushenko’s emotional depiction, and was inspired (some may say compelled) to write his Symphony No. 13, which he titled Babi Yar. There was tremendous resistance from the Soviet authorities; even the conductor of the first performance was changed. But in spite of all of these efforts to stifle the truth, we now have the everlasting masterpieces of Yevtushenko and Shostakovich. And, we have a clear accounting of what happened, something which history and deniers can not dispute.

Shostakovich reportedly said the following to a musicologist: “It would be good if Jews could live peacefully and happily in Russia, where they were born. But we must never forget about the dangers of anti-Semitism and keep reminding others of it, because the infection is still alive and who knows if it will ever disappear. That is why I was overjoyed when I read Yevtushenko’s Babi Yar; the poem astounded me. It astounded thousands of people. Many had heard aboutBabi Yar, but it took Yevtushenko’s poem to make them aware of it. They tried to destroy the memory ofBabi Yar, first the Germans, and then the Ukrainian government. But after Yevtushenko’s poem, it became clear that it would never be forgotten. That is the power of art.”

The above quote and the phrases below crystallize the importance of preserving  and presenting Judaism, with its traditions, history, ritual and folklore to Jews and non-Jews alike. And through the arts, the message becomes permanent.

Shostakovich concludes: “People knew about Babi Yar before Yevtushenko’s poem, but were silent. And when they read the poem, the silence was broken. Art destroys silence”.

I rest my case.

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Amos is conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO) and has been a guest conductor of professional orchestras around the world.  He may be contacted at david.amos@sdjewishworld.com