DAVIE, Fla. – A more than 100-year-old violin that was silenced during the Holocaust is set to have its first public performance in more than 70 years in Davie on Tuesday.
Yefim Romanov, of the New World Symphony Orchestra, gave Local 10 News a preview, performing with the rare instrument ahead of a concert at Nova Southeastern University.
"The things this violin saw and knows. It's kind of very unique and special," Romanov said. "It's a very powerful violin. I was surprised," Romanov said.
The violin is his latest treasure donated by a family in Israel. It was made in 1870 in Germany for a Jewish family. The violin, which features a carving of the Star of David, was later restored by a man whose family was among the millions murdered in Holocaust.
"Inside the violin there is a note written in Hebrew by the restorer," said Craig Weiner, co-president of the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund. "And it's a note that dedicates this violin to the victims of a Ponari massacre in Lithuania."
The fund encourages Holocaust studies throughout the United States. Romanov was set to perform at Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Room in NSU's Alvin Sherman Library.
The resource room contains historical artifacts from the 1930s and 40s, much of it donated from all over the world.