Ilse Weber

Ilse Weber (1903-1944) was a Jewish poet and amateur musician. Weber played many instruments as a child, including the guitar and balalaika. However, there is no documentation that she formally studied music. She was employed by Czech Radio and a children's magazine, where she worked as a writer. 

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In 1942, Weber and her family were sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto. 

There, she was assigned to work as a night-nurse for the children in the camp's infirmary. To comfort them, she would set her poetry to music, and then sing them (while often accompanying on guitar). 

 

In 1944, Weber's husband and youngest son received orders to Auschwitz. To not break up the family, Weber made the unfathomable decision to join them. Immediately upon arrival, Weber and her son were murdered in the gas chambers. Eight of her songs survive.