A Collaborative Program with Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education at Chapman University, Jewish Federation of Orange County and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

Performances by JAC Trio
Remarks from Janice Mautner Markham,
Faculty Member, Herb Alpert School of Music, UCLA | PhD Candidate, University of Birmingham, UK

We come together to remember the pogrom of November 9-10, 1938, often referred to as Kristallnacht. We remember those targeted by the antisemitic violence that swept across Germany and Austria, and we honor the courageous few who dared to stand with the persecuted and defy Nazi authority.

The Remarkable Story of Frieda Belinfante: From Amsterdam to Orange County 

Before the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, Frieda Belinfante was an acclaimed cellist and conductor—the first woman to lead a chamber orchestra in all of Europe. She had a Jewish father, was a proud lesbian, and a fierce anti-Nazi. In the Dutch resistance, she became a skilled forger of false identification cards—the very type of card that enabled Curt Lowens, who experienced Kristallnacht as a boy in Berlin, to survive in hiding in the Netherlands andlater participate in saving some 123 Jewish children. 

From her early life and extraordinary courage during the Holocaust, discover Frieda Belinfante’s remarkable story, reflecting the strength and resilience of those who fought to survive and resist. Through storytelling and music, follow her journey from wartime Amsterdam to Southern California, where she became an influential figure in Orange County’s music and cultural history.

A reception will follow the event.