Amnon Weinstein, founder of the Violins of Hope project, was honored last month with the Bundesverdienstkruez (Federal Cross of Merit) for his decades-long efforts to find and restore instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust.
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented the award to the 77-year-old on December 14 at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. ‘Behind each of your precious violins hides a human soul,’ said Steinmeier. ‘With your “Violins of Hope”, you give a voice back to these lost souls.’
Mr. Weinstein's lovingly restored instruments served as the centerpiece of Violins of Hope Cleveland, a community-wide collaboration presented in the Fall of 2015, designed to shed light on stories from the Holocaust. ideastream was one of seven leading nonprofit institutions creating this cultural and educational public service effort. Because of the importance of the project to the community, ideastream used multiple media along with outreach events and educational presentations to tell the project’s story and expand on its themes of tolerance and compassion.
You can revisit ideastream coverage of Violins of Hope Cleveland here.