Germany / Romania, pre–World War II
Before World War II, Manfred Katz lived in Germany as a Romanian citizen. His father, an avid violinist, gifted Manfred his cherished instrument — a keepsake of love and legacy.
When war erupted, Manfred and his wife Betty were forced to abandon nearly everything they owned as they fled Germany and returned to Romania. There, they were interned in a ghetto, enduring the daily hardships of displacement and fear.
Through it all, one precious possession remained with them: Manfred’s violin — the only object to survive from their life before the war. The couple clung to it as a symbol of hope, identity, and endurance. Its music carried their memories through humanity’s darkest times and continues to speak today as part of the Violins of Hope collection.
