The much-anticipated “Symphony of the Holocaust” documentary World Premiere about child prodigy violinist and Holocaust Survivor Shony Alex Braun’s inspiring life and final wish being fulfilled in 2023, will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at the Jewish Nevada Film Festival in Las Vegas, in sync with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
To reach a worldwide audience, the film will also be released on Nevada’s streaming service SunnStream.com, and be available on multiple platforms, including Apple TV, IOS, Google Play, Roku, and Amazon starting January 27, 2024.”
Miraculously, Shony Alex Braun survived four concentration camps from May 1944 through April 29, 1945. Shony was only 13 years old when he was separated from his mother and sister, who were murdered. Shony spent his 14th birthday in captivity and was ordered to carry the dead bodies to the crematorium while in captivity. Shony believes that he survived Dachau by playing the violin for the Nazis. Sadly, Shony’s father and brother were also murdered in the death camps.
After World War II, Shony and his wife Shari Mendelovits (also a Holocaust Survivor) met while recovering from wounds in a hospital. It was “love at first sight”, and the couple later rebuilt a new life in Los Angeles with an inspiring music career. With Shari as his manager, Shony composed 200 plus melodies, had many live performances, donated time and talents at charity events and performed for President Ronald Reagan with “Bridges For Peace” at The White House. The couple focused their lives on “joy” and “forgiveness”. Sadly, Shony died from pneumonia in 2002 before fulfilling his final wish.
What makes this documentary unique is that Shony Alex Braun’s family went through a bittersweet journey to locate his prized violin, and to fulfill his final wish by having his “Symphony of the Holocaust” played on Shony’s violin at the Auschwitz-Birkenau gates. Shony was determined to fill the horrible camp with the beauty of his music, and his family did that for him in 2023.”
When asked “Who was Shony Braun?” daughter Dinah Braun Griffin expressed her love and admiration by emphasizing, “My dad was a hero to me. He wrote ‘Symphony of the Holocaust’ in his mind while in captivity. After immigrating and becoming a U.S. citizen, Dad wrote and performed his 17-minute symphony first in Los Angeles in 1988, which was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in music.”
Award-Winning Director Greg DeHart emphasizes, “We hope this film resonates with people because it is a universal story across cultures and periods about a unique triumph. We have an Armenian violinist Erik Ghukasyan fulfilling a Jewish Holocaust survivor’s dream. Shony’s daughter, Dinah married a Christian, and Shony’s former violin restorer and good friend, was German.”
On a rainy day filled with many emotions, Dinah and her family stand bravely while Armenian Violinist Erik Ghukasyan plays Shony’s violin and “Symphony of the Holocaust” at the Auschwitz-Birkenau gates.
