Shony Alex Braun (born Sándor Braun; Cristuru-Secuiesc, Romania, July 14, 1924– Los Angeles, California, October 4, 2002) was a Romanian-born Hungarian Jewish violinist,

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor, classical composer and actor. He played bit parts in the TV shows ''

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'', ''

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'' and the film '''68''. He died of pneumonia on October 4, 2002, aged 78.

Early life

Sándor Braun, nicknamed "Sanyi" or "Shony", was fourth of six children. He was also known by his Hebrew name, Yitzhak. He was a violin prodigy. He and his family were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. He was moved to several camps and ended up in Dachau, where he would regularly play the violin for SS officers in exchange for extra food rations. After the Holocaust he married Shari Mendelovitz, also a Holocaust survivor, and resumed his violin studies. He emigrated to the United States in 1950. He composed the "Symphony of the Holocaust" and performed it with a live orchestra in 1992 in

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. He recorded 11 albums of continental and Gypsy music. Many of the compositions were his original works.

References

Sources

* Shony Alex Braun with Emily Cavins, ''My Heart is a Violin: the Biography of Renowned Violinist and Holocaust Survivor, Shony Alex Braun'', Author House, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Shony Alex 1924 births 2002 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in California Jewish concentration camp survivors Romanian violinists Hungarian classical violinists Male classical violinists Jewish violinists Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni Hungarian Jews Romanian Jews American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent 20th-century classical violinists Romanian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Hungarian male musicians Naturalized citizens of the United States