Zofia Czajkowska
Zofia Czajkowska was a Polish musician chosen to be the first conductor of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz.
She had been a music teacher, prior to her arrest, as a political prisoner.
According to Susan Eischeid, author of The Truth about Fania Fénelon and the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Czajkowska was an indifferent musician. Like the other musicians in the orchestra, Czajkowska was a captive, whose service in the orchestra helped keep them from being sent to their deaths.
In July 1943 Alma Rosé, a talented musician, and niece of Gustav Mahler, arrived in the camp and took over leading the orchestra. Czajkowska worked as Rose's lieutenant.
