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Fania Fenelon

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Musician

The Resume

    ( -December 19, 1983)
    Born in Paris, France
    Birth name was Fania 'Fanny' Goldstein
    Went by the name of Fanja Perla during WWII
    French pianist, composer and cabaret singer
    Participated in the French Resistance against the Nazis during WWII
    Was arrested and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and later to Bergen-Belsen
    Member of the Women and Girls' Orchestra of Auschwitz (Mädchenorchester von Auschwitz) until her release in 1945
    Documented her experiences in the book, 'Sursis pour l'orchestre' ('The Musicians of Auschwitz') and the theatrical adaptation, 'Playing for Time'

Why she might be annoying:

    Her age was non-descript and her birth year has been listed as 1908, 1918, and 1922.
    She was divorced.
    She was accused of poorly characterizing the orchestra conductor, Alma Rose - the only member of the orchestra who did not survive the camps.
    Her book inspired counter narrative memoirs by several members of the Orchestra, who pointed out inaccurate historical dates/facts and some outright fabrications, in her book.
    Her book tends to give the impression that her biggest worry in the camps was being distrusted by other inmates for having privileges as an Orchestra member.
    Many are unaware that Auschwitz even had a Women's Orchestra and therefore tend to misinterpret her story as some kind of 'sick joke.'
    She actively sought to have Liza Minnelli play her in the film adaptation of her book.
    She scolded Vanessa Redgrave in a heated segment on 60 Minutes.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris.
    She was a spy for the French Resistance, working as a nightclub singer at German bars to obtain classified information.
    Her arrest was less about her activity with the Resistance than for the revelation that she was half-Jewish.
    She credited having a sense of humor with getting her through her experiences at the Concentration Camps.
    Her written accounts were based on the diary she kept in her captivity at Auschwitz.
    She would take over the drums whenever the Orchestra drummer took ill.
    She sang 'God Save the Queen' for the BBC on the day of Bergen-Belsen's liberation by the British, despite suffering from Typhus and being weak from starvation (she weighed only 65 pounds).
    In her memoirs she pointed out the paradox of the Nazis' butchery, simultaneous with their love of beautiful music.
    She vocally opposed the choice of Vanessa Redgrave to portray her in the film adaptation due to her anti-Zionist/pro-PLO stances.
    She died of cancer and heart disease in 1983.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 27 Votes: 62.96% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 135 Votes: 54.81% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 100 Votes: 54.00% Annoying