Alice Herz-Sommer, Biography Of A Survivor Artist
We invite you here to walk through the life of Alice Herz-Sommer, a survivor, a woman who defied death and who lived to the impressive age of 110 years.
Why is Alice Herz-Sommer a survivor? Because she was condemned to death when she was young: of Jewish origin, she knew the concentration camp. For this same reason, this woman was doomed to be an eternal victim. Nonetheless, against all odds, she is considered “the most optimistic woman in the world”.
In a few of the many interviews she gave, Alice Herz-Sommer recounts that she had a twin sister with whom she shared her looks, her genes and her parents but whose attitude was radically opposed to hers. Alice said of herself that she was born to be optimistic and that she always managed to see the positive side of a situation, even in the worst of times.
The vitality of this woman aroused much admiration, a characteristic that she retained until the last years of her life. Despite her advanced age, she played the piano every day, her great passion. And she was already almost a hundred years old when she enrolled at the University for the Third Age: her thirst to learn and to surpass herself has never disappeared.
For all these reasons, we invite you here to discover the keys to this longevity and the optimism with which Alice Herz-Sommer has always faced life.
The happy childhood of Alice Herz-Sommer
In the history of people who are able to show a lot of resilience, there is almost always a happy childhood. Alice Herz-Sommer was born in Prague on November 26, 1903. She comes from a Jewish family in which art and culture occupy a fundamental place.
The most famous artists and intellectuals of the time regularly visited Alice Herz-Sommer’s home. Franz Kafka was one of those regular visitors. Besides, Alice’s sister married the best friend of our literary genius. Other artists regularly received in Alice’s house included Gustav Mahler, Rainer Maria Rilke, Stefan Zweig and Thomas Mann. Even Sigmund Freud was on the family’s guest list.
At a very young age, Alice felt a deep love for music. From the age of eight, she devoted herself with love and discipline to the piano. Barely a teenager, she gave piano concerts all over Prague.
Nazi invasion
In 1931, Alice Herz-Sommer met Leopold Sommer, also a musician. She marries him and he will become the great love of her life. In 1937, his only son was born, Raphael.
Unfortunately, happiness does not last a lifetime: in 1939, the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia. Most Jews are sent to a ghetto. Alice and her family counted on the respect of those around them and it is probably for this reason that they were able to continue living in their apartment.
However, the situation will worsen. As the war progressed, the Czechs themselves began to discriminate against Jews. In 1942, Alice’s mother and Leopold’s parents received deportation letters… A truly dramatic moment.
It was Alice herself who brought her then 72-year-old mother to the deportation center. She will watch her mother leave knowing that she was walking towards death. This moment of helplessness was for her the saddest moment of all her life. Even decades later, Alice continued to recall this moment with nostalgia, melancholy and sadness, especially through the melodies of Mahler.
Alice Herz-Sommer, a survivor
A new deportation letter quickly arrived at the family home. In 1943, a new order finally broke the nucleus: this time the deportation letter was addressed to Alice Herz-Sommer, her husband and their son. The three of them were taken to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, a camp reserved for artists. In theory, in this camp, the detainees will be preserved, but it was later shown that this was just a lie.
In the camp, Alice will play the piano for the Nazis while the latter plan their exterminations around a good dinner and to the rhythm of the concerts offered by this wonderful pianist. But she will also play for the interns. Alice will later relate that she has given more than 150 performances in total and that during many of them she was able to notice how music nourished the tormented souls of the camp inmates.
Alice’s husband will be transported to the Auschwitz camp. Before leaving, he will order his wife to do nothing voluntarily. A few days after his departure, the Nazis called in “volunteers” wishing to reunite with their husbands. Alice who remembered Leopold’s words does not volunteer and thus manages to spare her life. She used to say that the hardest part was seeing her son be hungry and that to make up for that she always smiled.
The end of life in the camp
Alice and her son are among the few survivors of the camp. Once the war is over, they move to Israel. Alice decides not to live in the past and to raise her son without hate. Raphael becomes a famous cellist. As for Alice, she died at the age of 110 in London, England.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the example of Alice is fundamental to show the strength of the human being and to show that our attitude towards life determines our future.
Our thoughts Discover eight principles enunciated by writer Mark Stevenson to bring pragmatic optimism into your daily life.
