A violin once owned by a 12-year-old boy who witnessed his family’s murder is now on display in Knoxville, as part of the Violins of Hope exhibit, shared Louis Gauci, the gallery designer.
The boy, Motele Schlein, escaped into the woods where he encountered a partisan group and worked alongside them to sabotage the Nazis, Gauci explained. Tragically, he was killed around the age of 14.
This violin is one of 50 featured in the exhibit, each serving as a solemn reminder of one of history’s darkest moments. These instruments were once owned by Jewish individuals during the Holocaust and were played in ghettos and concentration camps.
Titled Violins of Hope, the exhibit opened on Monday and will be available for viewing through April 9 at Digital Motif, located at 108 S. Gay Street.
“These instruments have voices,” said Gauci. “They were once happy voices. Then they were silenced, and now they’re being given a voice again.”
He added, “That is the crucial message we must remember—that there is hope in our lives, and we must move beyond our differences, understanding that differences can be bridged through mutual understanding… These instruments express that message powerfully.”
In addition to the exhibit, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform two special concerts to give voice to these instruments. The first will be held on March 5, with the second concert scheduled for April 8.
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