Henry Rosmarin

Who is Henry Rosmarin?

Henry Rosmarin, 75, a Holocaust survivor who mesmerized audiences with his harmonica playing and stories of his imprisonment, died of cancer Tuesday in Van Nuys.

Born in Poland, Rosmarin was 17 when he was captured by the Nazis and sent to a German concentration camp at Dyhernfurth. His life was saved by a harmonica, on which he had learned to play classical compositions when he was a boy. A commandant who was fond of music ordered him to play and was sufficiently satisfied with what he heard to assign Rosmarin to the kitchen for the duration of his imprisonment. His duties included playing dinner music every night in the guards' mess hall.