Book ‘Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Played During Nazi Crimes’

According to the correspondent of the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), this novel narrates the horrific murder of a Swiss Jew named Arthur Bloch in 1942, who was brutally killed during World War II by a group of anti-Semitic men.

Jacques Chessex recounts this story inspired by a true event in the Canton of Vaud; the story primarily focuses on the poisoned atmosphere, bigotry, and collective hatred that paved the way for this crime. With sharp and concise language, the author exposes the role of society, the silence of the people, and the weakness of local institutions in the formation of this tragedy. This novel ultimately provides a moral warning about the consequences of hatred and indifference, reminding us that such tragedies arise from silence and prejudice.

The late Shahriar Masroor (born 1963), a translator, singer, and composer, had albums such as “Heaven is Yours,” “Sometimes,” and songs like “Habit,” “Mother,” “Tonight,” etc., in his repertoire. The late Shahriar Masroor was one of the first pioneers of jazz, blues, rock, and country music in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, earning him the title of veteran blues singer in Iran.

A passage from the novel “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Played During Nazi Crimes” reads: “The seed of the story was planted in April 1942; when the fire of war, bloodshed, and Hitler’s rage had engulfed Europe, Pyrene was a small town with shops and commercial centers adjacent to La Braye and not far from Fribourg. In the center of this town was a monastery dating back to the 10th century and the kingdom of Rudolf II. The bourgeois of Pyrene preferred to close their eyes to the town’s development and commercialization to preserve its rural fabric and keep its people grappling with poverty. They preferred darkness over light. The population of this town was estimated at five thousand people; ten percent of its population (five hundred people) were unemployed and had turned to delinquency…”

Jadouye Ghalam Publications recently released the book “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Played During Nazi Crimes” with a preface by Farzam Karimi, in 114 pages, octavo size, priced at 190,000 Tomans.