Songs recorded in Henonville DP camp
Creator(s)
- David P. Boder (Collector)
- Gute Frank (Performer)
Scope and Content
Spool 06. 22 min. Psychologist David Boder recorded interviews in displaced persons camps in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in 1946. His wire spool recordings were deposited at the Library of Congress and later transferred to tape in 1995. USHMM located this lost recording with songs of Henonville in 2017. "Songs of Henonville" was recorded in Henonville, France on September 13, 1946. Songs include: 1. "Dos yidishe lid" (The Jewish Song) by Anshel Schorr and Sholom Secunda (USA, 1926). Performed in Yiddish as "Golus-lid" (Exile Song) by Dzhuel [Joel] Prizant. 2. "Aheym" (Homeward). Unidentified cantorial-styled composition. Performed in Yiddish by Dzhuel Prizant. 3. “Fraytik oyf der nakht” (Friday at Night) by Nokhem Sternheim (Poland, ca 1920s). Performed in Yiddish by Dzhuel Prizant. 4. “Undzer shtetl brent” (Our Village is Burning) by Mordecai Gebirtig (Poland, ca 1938). Performed in Yiddish by Gute Frank. In her spoken introduction, Ms. Frank explains that she's studying to become a seamstress at the ORT [Jewish vocational school] at Henonville "under the guidance of Madame Anna Blankenstein [?Frankenstein]." She states “Undzer shtetl brent” was sung by Gebirtig's daughter in the "cellars of the Krakow ghetto to inspire the people to rise up"; and she alters the line "our village is burning" to "the Jewish people are burning." 5. “Ikh for aheym” (I'm Coming Home) by David Meyerowitz (USA 1926). Performed in Yiddish by Malka Rosenberg. 6. “Unser Lager steht am Waldesrande" (Our Camp Stands at the Forest's Edge or "Das Lied vom Lager Brande” or "Brande-Lager"). Folk song, Brande Concentration Camp (Poland, ca. 1942). Performed in German by Gute Frank. This song is known from other sources as the "anthem" of the Brande forced labor camp in southwestern Poland. The lyrics had been previously collected but this recording by Frank is the only known source for the melody.
Note(s)
For more information, refer to article by James Gaines: www.upworthy.com/how-a-chance-discovery-let-us-listen-to-these-holocaust-refugees-songs-one-more-time. See RG-60.1956 for Boder's private film of the Henonville displaced persons camp.
People
- Meyerowitz, David, 1867-1943.
- Prizant, Dzhuel.
- Frank, Gute.
- Boder, David P. (David Pablo), 1886-1961.
- Shternheim, Nokhem, 1879-1942.
- Gebirtig, Mordecai, 1877-1942.
- Shor, A. (Anshel), 1871-1942.
- Rosenberg, Malka.
Corporate Bodies
- World ORT Union
- Brande (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Folk music.
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps.
- Refugee camps--Europe.
- Jewish ghettos--Songs and music.
- Singing.
- World War, 1939-1945--Songs and music.
- Hénonville (France)
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees.
- Sound recordings--Collectors and collecting.
- Folk songs.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Krakow.
- Songs, Yiddish.
- Work songs.
- Songs, German.
- Concentration camp inmates as musicians.
Genre
- Songs and music
- Recorded Sound
- Music.