During World War II, within the brutal confines of the Dachau concentration camp, a Jewish prisoner secretly crafted a violin — and hid within it a short, poignant note that would remain undiscovered for more than 80 years.
The fragile message read:
“Trial instrument, made under difficult conditions with no tools and materials. Dachau. Anno 1941, Franciszek Kempa.”
Franciszek “Franz” Kempa built the violin in 1941 while imprisoned by the Nazis at Dachau, located in southern Germany. For decades, the instrument’s true origins went unnoticed. It was only when Hungarian art dealers, who had kept the violin stored among purchased furniture, sent it for repairs that its remarkable history surfaced.
Though the violin clearly reflected the hand of an expert craftsman, the poor quality of the wood and the rudimentary construction tools baffled the professional tasked with repairing it.
“When you examine its proportions and structure, it’s evident that a master violin maker created it,” said Szandra Katona, one of the Hungarian art dealers who uncovered the violin’s story. “But the wood’s quality seemed utterly out of place.”
Driven by this contradiction, the repair specialist dismantled the violin, eventually uncovering Kempa’s hidden note — a moving explanation, perhaps even an apology, from a skilled artisan constrained by the brutal conditions of his captivity.
Dachau, situated near Munich, was the first Nazi concentration camp, established in March 1933. Originally intended for political prisoners, it later became a model for other camps, holding Jews, Roma, clergy, homosexuals, and other groups targeted by the regime.
Over the years, Dachau evolved into a center of forced labor, horrific medical experiments, and merciless punishment, remaining operational until its liberation by American forces on April 29, 1945. At least 40,000 people are believed to have died there from starvation, disease, execution, or abuse.
Historical evidence shows that musical instruments existed in many concentration camps across Central and Eastern Europe during the war. Nazis often allowed — or even encouraged — musical groups for propaganda purposes, aiming to portray a misleading image of life in the camps.
However, in Dachau, surviving instruments were typically those prisoners had brought with them. Kempa’s creation — now known as the “violin of hope” — is the only known instrument actually crafted inside the camp.
How the violin eventually left Dachau and found its way to Hungary remains unknown. Records from the Dachau memorial museum, shared with the Hungarian art dealers, reveal that Kempa survived the war. He returned to Poland and resumed his craft as an instrument maker before passing away in 1953.
The records also indicate that Kempa’s skill as a violin maker was recognized by the Nazis, a fact that Tamás Tálosi, one of the art dealers, believes may have been critical to his survival.
“We called it the ‘violin of hope’ because when someone is in an incredibly hard situation, having a purpose or a challenge can help them survive,” Tálosi said. “You focus on the task, not the suffering — and I believe that is what helped the maker of this instrument endure the horrors of Dachau.”
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