From an early age, Elja Haifetz was defined by music. Born in Riga, Latvia in 1912, he began singing in the Great Choral Synagogue choir at eight and received his first cello at twelve. By 1930, he had formed the Eljas Heifecs Mandolin Orchestra, introducing jazz to Latvia and performing classical and Klezmer music.
Elja Haifetz: Music in Darkness
A group of Latvian Jewish friends, one playing the guitar, poses outside a building in the snow. Pictured in the back centre is Elja Heifecs. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Samuel Heifetz
When the German occupation transformed Riga into a site of persecution, Haifetz's musical skills became more than an art—they became a means of survival and resistance. In the Jewish ghetto, where water and electricity were cut off and food was scarce, Haifetz continued to perform. Along with violinist Perc Braun, he organized concerts to lift the spirits of ghetto residents, creating moments of beauty and human connection amid extreme brutality.
Haifetz's survival was marked by a series of narrow escapes. His blonde hair and blue eyes allowed him to move with less suspicion. A former housekeeper sheltered him temporarily, and a ghetto gate guard helped him smuggle food to his family. When his brother Leibel was taken to a factory and murdered, and his parents were killed in the Rumbula Forest massacre, Haifetz continued to find ways to survive.
After being transferred through multiple concentration camps—Kaiserwald, Mühlgraben, Stutthof, and finally Buchenwald—his musical talent again proved crucial. A Kapo seeking entertainment had Haifetz and other musicians perform using instruments confiscated from prisoners. This performance led to their transfer to Buchenwald, a move that, while not a true rescue, momentarily separated them from immediate death.
Elja Heifecs conducts a Jewish mandolin orchestra in Riga. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Samuel Heifetz
At Buchenwald, Haifetz endured grueling labor in rock mines and was forced to disengage unexploded mines. The physical toll was severe—his hands were damaged, forcing him to switch from cello to double bass after the war. He survived a brutal three-day train journey and a death march to Theresienstadt, arriving critically ill with dysentery and typhus.
After the war, Haifetz returned to Riga and resumed his musical career. He met his wife Khaya through a friend from the ghetto and concentration camps, and they had a son who also became a musician. Continuing the family's musical tradition, they eventually moved to the United States.
Elja Haifetz died in 1991 at the age of 91, having transformed personal tragedy through an unwavering commitment to music.
Sources
Biographical notes for Elja Haifetz, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website, (accessed Nov 2024)
