How British clarinettist Steven Zade speaks about the fate of his Jewish family and gives them a voice again through his book "Play the Silence"

A very warm welcome to a new episode of Kultur im Ohr. I’m Viola Gräfenstein, journalist and lover of culture. Those who know me are aware that I like to stand up for justice and for inspiring people with big hearts. That’s why my podcast Kultur im Ohr introduces extraordinary individuals who make the world a better place through who they are, their ideas, and their actions.

In this episode, I’m joined by Steven Zade from Paris. Steven was born in London 82 years ago. He is a musician, retired lecturer, and translator who has learned a great deal about life, yet for a long time, he never truly knew who he was or who his family really were.

The reason: a large part of his family was murdered in Auschwitz. His father, who survived the Holocaust, remained silent about it for the rest of his life, leaving his son in the dark.

But some time ago, Steven Zade’s past caught up with him. During a walk along the banks of the Rhine, Jutta Ermecke from Mettmann happened to find a small metal plate. After some investigation, it turned out to be the signature stamp of his Jewish grandmother, Martha Zade, who had lived as an artist in Langenfeld-Immigrath in the Rhineland, between Cologne and Düsseldorf. In 1944, she, her husband Hugo Zade, and their daughter Ursula were murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz.

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to visit Steven Zade in his adopted home of Paris and personally return his grandmother’s signature stamp to him. It is the only remaining object he has of her.

I spoke with him about his grandmother, about what it was like to grow up as a Jewish descendant unable, and not allowed, to speak about this part of his past, and about how the silence surrounding the Holocaust shaped and dominated his own life.

Today, he has written a book about his Jewish family, Play the Silence, in which he retraces his family’s footsteps and comes to terms with feelings of guilt. For him, the silence about his family’s origins and the guilt inherited from his father for being the only family survivor should never again define his life.

“By writing this book, I celebrated my family’s life instead of focusing on their death, something that had led me to see and define myself as a victim for many years. I wanted to give my family a voice, because I celebrate life. That has also set me free,” says Steven Zade.

I’m very pleased to have Steven Zade on my podcast Kultur im Ohr. This episode is entirely in English. Thank you for listening and thank you for allowing me to contribute, through Steven Zade’s story, to keeping the memory of his family and of Jewish families alive.

The German translation of Steven Zade’s book is in preparation.

I would like to emphasize that I distance myself from all political opinions and decisions regarding the current political situation. It is important to me to remember the fate of the Jewish people and all those who perished under National Socialism, so that no one in the world will ever have to suffer the same fate again.

I reject all forms of violence, hate, war, discrimination and injustice. I reject racism, antisemitism, and islamophobia. All people are equal. Children and women are particularly in need of protection. Human rights and dignity are inviolable to me. I stand for freedom and justice.

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