Coco Schumann
German musician and Holocaust survivor
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Key Takeaways
- Heinz Jakob "Coco" Schumann (14 May 1924 – 28 January 2018) was a German jazz musician and Holocaust survivor.
- In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Schumann performed as a jazz guitarist, with Marlene Dietrich, Ella Fitzgerald, and Helmut Zacharias.
- His father, Alfred Schumann, was a war veteran.
- Schumann's mother, Hedwig (née Rothholz), was a hairdresser who worked at her father's salon.
- Schumann became passionate about Swing jazz after having heard it during the Berlin Olympics.
Heinz Jakob "Coco" Schumann (14 May 1924 – 28 January 2018) was a German jazz musician and Holocaust survivor. He became a member of the Ghetto Swingers while transported to Theresienstadt at the age of nineteen. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Schumann performed as a jazz guitarist, with Marlene Dietrich, Ella Fitzgerald, and Helmut Zacharias.
Early life
Schumann was born in Berlin, Germany, into a bourgeois family. His father, Alfred Schumann, was a war veteran. German by ethnicity and Christian by upbringing, he converted to Judaism after marrying his Jewish wife. Schumann's mother, Hedwig (née Rothholz), was a hairdresser who worked at her father's salon. His nickname, "Coco," came from his French girlfriend who could not pronounce his first name. Schumann became passionate about Swing jazz after having heard it during the Berlin Olympics. During his teenage years, he played for various swing bands and taught himself to play guitar and drums.
Holocaust years
Schumann was transported first to Theresienstadt at the age of nineteen, where he became a member of the Ghetto Swingers. Finally he and Martin Roman were transported to Auschwitz, where he came face to face with Josef Mengele. When Mengele inquired of the blue-eyed, nineteen-year-old Schumann where he came from and what he did, Schumann shouted, "Berlin, Herr Obersturmbannführer! Plumber, Herr Obersturmbannführer!"
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