The author outlines how memory is treated by contemporary artists, philosophers,

musicians, sociologists, musicologists, as well as victims of the Holocaust…

She paints a rich landscape of how her subject features in the work of

composers and their collaborators, many of whom were motivated by memories

of the Occupation.

With such a subject, the discussion inevitably comes round to the uneasy relationship

between aesthetics and ethics. The author quotes Adorno: “Is poetry

possible after Auschwitz?”. The work is an answer to that question, and an affirmative

one. It must be possible: to restore hope, and to invoke and sustain

Memory, at least symbolically – by artistic means. Art, even when it disturbs,

brings catharsis and preserves memory.

The author impresses with her erudition, wealth of materials cited, musical

competence and critical insights.

Krzysztof Szwajgier, The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Cracow,

Poland.