Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, born in 1925, in Breslau, Germany, is a cellist, and one of the only surviving members of the Women’s Orchestra in Auschwitz. She was deported to Auschwitz with her sister in December 1943. Due to her membership in the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz she was saved, as cello players were difficult to replace. She was forced to play marches as the slave labourers left the camp for each day’s work and when they returned. They also gave concerts for the SS. In October 1944, with the Red Army advancing, Auschwitz was evacuated and Anita was taken on a train with 3,000 others to Bergen-Belsen until liberation by the British. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2016.

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