"Until the occupation of Czechoslovakia Alice had enjoyed a successful concert career in central Europe. Frequently she had been the featured piano soloist with the Czech Philharmonic and had completed a number of commercial recordings before her arrest. No surprise then that she and her son, Raffi, continued to let music sustain them whilst suffering at the hands of the Nazis. Alice played the piano at every opportunity and Raffi became the youngest cast member of the famous childrens' opera; Brundibar frequently singing the solo role of the 'Bird'. (We can still see a fragment of his performance in footage from Kurt Gerron's infamous 1944 propaganda film 'The Fuehrer Builds a City for the Jews' "
"Alice was raised with an emphasis on Jewish cultural and ethical values rather than religious dogma. Today she loves to say "I am Jewish, but Beethoven is my religion."
"Alice's mother and husband passed through Terezin on their way to Auschwitz where they were gassed. As well as performing in more than 100 concerts in the camp Alice devoted herself to the physical and emotional protection of her son. As an adult Raffi had remarkably few dark memories of 'Terezin', saying that his mother somehow managed to protect him from the worst realities of life at the mercy of the Nazis. He once wrote that Alice managed to create a Garden of Eden for him in the midst of that hell.
Alice and her son returned to Prague after being liberated by the Soviet Army in May of 1945. She found no one and nothing of her past. Strangers lived in her apartment - which had been confiscated by the Nazis. Already 45 years old, she made the decision to immigrate to Israel where she hoped to find other Survivors. In the "promised land" she built a new life and supported herself and her son by teaching at the Music Academy. She did find other Czech immigrants - friends and relatives - including Max Brod who had been Kafka's close friend and biographer. The greats of Israel; Ben Gurion & Abba Eban visited Alice and listened to her play though she never revived her international career. Raffi flourished and showed serious promise as a cellist. When he won an audition and scholarship to the Paris Conservatory Alice learned French so that she could stay in touch with him through letters. Suddenly alone again - Alice persevered.
After becoming a successful cellist, Raffi settled in England where he married and had two sons. Shortly before her 100th birthday Alice decided to retire from teaching and to emigrate once more, this time to England to be near Raffi and her grandchildren. But disaster struck shortly after she moved to London when Raffi died suddenly in Israel while on a concert tour with the Solomon Trio. Grief-stricken, Alice was hospitalized for weeks before she gradually began to recover from the shock and sadness. Then, around the time that she turned 100 Alice took up the study of philosophy to bolster her indestructible spirit, to try and make sense of everything that had befallen her, and to keep her insatiably curious mind alive. "
