During World War II, within the walls of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, a Jewish prisoner secretly penned a short note and hid it inside a violin he had crafted under harrowing circumstances – a message to the future that would remain undiscovered for more than 80 years.
“Trial instrument, made under difficult conditions with no tools and materials,” the worn note read. “Dachau. Anno 1941, Franciszek Kempa.”
The origins of the violin, built in 1941 by Franciszek “Franz” Kempa while imprisoned by the Nazis at Dachau, near Munich in southwest Germany, remained unnoticed for decades.
It was not until art dealers in Hungary sent the instrument out for repairs – after having stored it for years among a set of bought furniture – that its history came to light.
Although the instrument’s craftsmanship pointed clearly to a skilled maker, the professional repairing it was puzzled by the poor quality of the wood and the crude tools used to create it, which did not match the evident skill involved.
“If you look at its proportions and structure, you can see that it’s a master violin, made by a man who was proficient in his craft,” said Szandra Katona, one of the Hungarian art dealers who discovered the origins of the violin. “But the choice of wood was completely incomprehensible.”