Journalist and author Makana Eyre visits Swarthmore on Tuesday, November 18th, for a reading of passages from his recent book Sing, Memory: The Remarkable Story of the Man Who Saved the Music of the Concentration Camps, followed by a discussion with Professor Barbara Milewski. Members of the Swarthmore Garnet Singers will perform a short piece composed by one of the book’s subjects, Rosebery D’Arguto, entitled “Gute Nacht Im Kinderheim.” The event is tied to Milewski’s “Music and War” class and will be held in the McCabe Library LibLab room at 1:15 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Attendees will have a chance to get a free signed copy of Eyre’s book.

Eyre’s book discusses Polish political prisoner, Aleksander Kulisiewicz, and his remarkable friendship with the conductor and composer Rosebery D’Arguto during their imprisonment at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Kulisiewicz is the subject of Professor Milewski’s research, which was featured on a BBC podcast in 2019. Eyre, deeply moved by the story of Kulisiewicz told in the podcast, contacted Milewski to explore the possibility of writing  a long-form essay about Kulisiewicz that would eventually appear in The Atavist. His work on that piece led to Eyre’s recent book Sing, Memory.

“He worked methodically and meticulously to get the story right,” says Milewski of Eyre’s writing process. “I was also really struck by his ethical integrity, his desire to avoid sensationalizing a story about music in the concentration camps.” Professor Milewski described the relationship between her work and Eyre’s as symbiotic.“What I’ve enjoyed about working with [Eyre] is that it has very much led to a friendship of our own. We’ve learned a great deal more about this topic from each others’ work and that could only happen through generosity and trust.”

D’Arguto and Kulisiewicz met at Sachsenhausen and became an unlikely pair, despite their differences. D’Arguto was Jewish, Kulisiewicz was not. D’Arguto was an elderly, established choral conductor and composer, while Kulisiewicz was a young law student. What they did have in common was a love for music, which helped the men form a bond of friendship and trust. During their time at Sachsenhausen, D’Arguto composed and secretly rehearsed a piece entitled “The Jewish Death Song” with a group of Jewish prisoners.  Both were tragically aware that D’Arguto, being Jewish, was less likely to survive the camp, so Kulisiewicz promised D’Arguto that if he survived, he’d remember his song and sing it to the world.

After the reading and a Q &A discussion, the Swarthmore Garnet Singers will perform one of D’Arguto’s unpublished prewar pieces, titled “Gute Nacht Im Kinderheim” [Good Night in the Children’s Home], a piece that reflects D’Arguto’s committed socialist values.

Milewski notes the value of talking about figures like D’Arguto, and of performing his music. “Telling his story, lifting up his music, performing it—this is a recovery project.”  

Eyre’s visit is sponsored by a Serendipity Grant through the Cooper Foundation. In addition to being a platform to showcase the work and life of D’Arguto, Milewski hopes the event will provide students with the opportunity to learn about the research process. Similar to how Kulisiewicz and D’Arguto’s story inspired Eyre’s own work, Milewski aims to reveal what it is like to write about and research a topic that “enters into your being,” as this story did for Eyre.  

“I am so excited about introducing Eyre to my class. Aside from being an excellent writer, he is just a really decent human being,” Milewski said. 

The lecture, discussion, and performance all take place in the McCabe Library LibLab room at 1:15 p.m on Tuesday, November 18th. Free and open to the public, this special, multi-faceted event is perfect for those interested in music, history and the joys of research. Join Makan Eyre, Professor Barbara Milewski, and the Swarthmore Garnet Singers to learn about and celebrate the extraordinary work of D’Arguto and Kulisiewicz.