Songbook compiled in Nazi camps finds new life
'Some of these songs were almost lost to history and now they can be heard again'
A Holocaust-era songbook preserved for decades by a Sydney survivor has been translated into English and published for the first time, following more than a decade of research by University of Sydney academics.
Mima’amakim (Out of the Depths) is a collection of songs from Nazi camps and ghettos, originally printed in a limited run of 500 copies.
One of only five surviving copies globally was held by a Holocaust survivor in Sydney, where it remained until its rediscovery in 2013, when it was shared with the researchers behind the new publication. The Sydney family who preserved the book are credited with playing a crucial role in ensuring the survival of what is believed to be one of the most complete surviving copies.
The project was led by migration academic associate professor Anna Boucher and ethnomusicologist Dr Joseph Toltz from the University of Sydney, who spent more than a decade tracing the post-war journeys of survivors connected to the songbook, including those who migrated to Australia to build new lives after the war.
“Some of these songs were almost lost to history and now they can be heard again,” said Toltz. “These songs are full of life and defiance. To hear them now is to hear voices that refused to be silenced.”
Researchers conducted trauma-informed interviews with Holocaust survivors and descendants across multiple countries, including some of the original lyricists and composers, and drew on archival sources including passenger cards, Holocaust testimony and photographs of gravestones. The songs were also subject to detailed Yiddish-to-English translation.
“This project took us across countries and generations — speaking with survivors, families and communities — to piece together a detective story of sorts that spans continents and decades,” said Boucher.
“We weren’t just translating words. We were carefully bringing meaning, memory and context of these survivors and their families into English for the first time.”
“They ask us to think about what people carry with them when they’re forced to flee, and what might be lost if those stories aren’t preserved.”
As the number of living Holocaust survivors declines, the publication aims to bring these songs to a broad international audience for the first time.
“These songs are not only historical documents but expressions of humanity, resistance and memory that have endured across generations,” said Toltz.