SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Saul Dreier, a 94-year-old “young man” — as he terms himself — is a Polish Holocaust survivor who, five years ago, founded the Holocaust Survivor Band.
Next Tuesday, August 13th, at 8 PM, at the Anhembi auditorium in São Paulo, this unique drummer will perform for the first time in Brazil.
In 2014, Saul, then 89, spent most of his time at home, in Florida, and did not travel much. His wife, Clara, was sick.
One day, while passing the time on the computer, he read about the story of Alice Herz-Sommer, a Jewish pianist who had survived the Nazi concentration camps. She played the instrument until she died at the age of 110.
The Pole decided, there and then, that he would set up a band made up of Holocaust survivors.
Despite much criticism, he was not moved. Days later, he went to a music store, bought a drum set and, little by little, set up the ensemble he wanted, with musicians that he met through the synagogue or were recommended to him by the rabbi.
He also included children and grandchildren of Nazi occupation survivors.
Sometimes, when he travels, he takes one or two musicians with him. His repertoire is klezmer music, an Ashkenazi Jewish style typical of pre-war Eastern Europe.
He started playing in his synagogue and was soon invited to play in other cities, such as Miami and Las Vegas. He visited several American states and other countries, such as Israel, Poland, and Germany. He also went to Auschwitz.
Saul was interviewed by several international media outlets such as the BBC, the American television network PBS, the “New York Times” and the “Times of Israel”.
When he travels, he carries a message of peace — and remembrance, so that others may not forget what he has lived through.