Mathé and her band first performed in Hungary before settling in Paris for several years. They performed in prestigious venues such as the Hungaria restaurant on the Champs Elysées, the Cirque Medrano, and on radio broadcasts. The group's popularity led to tours throughout Europe, including Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries. An important milestone in Mathé's pre-war career was the recording of "Casino Czardas" with her ensemble in 1936. This hit was played frequently on radio stations in Paris, Berlin and Budapest, further cementing her reputation as a talented violinist and bandleader.
The outbreak of World War II dramatically changed Mathé's life and career. After brief stays in London and Paris, she moved to the Netherlands in 1939. Fearing for her safety as a Jew, she returned to Budapest in 1941. After the German occupation of Budapest in the spring of 1944, Mathé was imprisoned with her parents and other family members in a concentration camp outside the city. They were then deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. While her parents were murdered shortly after their arrival, Mathé's musical abilities saved her life.
In Auschwitz, she was forced to work in the weaving mill and became a member of the women's orchestra. This experience, though harrowing, allowed her to survive. In a 1961 interview, she recounted a chilling encounter with Josef Kramer, known as the "Butcher of Belsen". Kramer asked her to play a melody on a violin, saying, "If you can't, you'll die." Her performance pleased him, and she was told, "You have saved your life."
Mathé's musical skills led to her appointment as conductor of the camp orchestra, which was responsible for welcoming new prisoners and playing for the officers' mess. In the fall of 1944, she and other members of the orchestra were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Seriously ill after her liberation on April 15, 1945, Mathé's resilience and musical talent continued to shape her life. She worked briefly at the Bergen-Belsen DP camp, where she took over the musical direction of a theatre production. In February 1947, Mathé emigrated to Great Britain, where she married Eduard Bernstein, a Viennese member of the British Army who had participated in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. In London, she resumed her musical career and worked for a time as a bandleader in a restaurant. In the 1950s and 1960s, she led a group of gypsy musicians at the Aldwych Brasserie restaurant in London, still using the violin Kramer had given her in the camps.
Mathé's wartime experiences continued to influence her life long after the war ended. In the mid-1950s, she initiated compensation proceedings in Germany, a common action among Holocaust survivors seeking recognition and compensation for their suffering. Her experiences also led her to participate in efforts to document and commemorate the Holocaust. In 1961, she testified against Adolf Eichmann at his trial in Israel, talking about his direct involvement in the selection of deportees upon arrival at Auschwitz.
When Fania Fénelon's memoir "The Girls' Orchestra in Auschwitz" was published, which included a negative portrayal of the orchestra's conductor, Alma Rosé, Mathé was upset, according to Paul Harris in a 1981 article in The Jewish Telegraph, based on an interview with Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Flora Schrijver. This reaction was shared by other survivors of the orchestra, who took issue with Fénelon's representation. The memoir and its subsequent TV adaptation gained significant attention in Holocaust scholarship, but became a source of frustration for many former orchestra members. They disagreed with Fénelon's portrayal of Rosé as a cruel disciplinarian and self-hating Jew who admired the Nazis and courted their favour.
Lily Mathé died in Edgware, London, on December 16, 1985. Her story illustrates the complex relationship between music, survival and trauma. From her early success as a violinist and band leader touring Europe to her pivotal role in the Auschwitz Women's Orchestra, music was a constant thread throughout Mathé's life.
Her experiences during the Holocaust and her subsequent career in post-war Britain offer valuable insights into the role of music under extreme conditions and its lasting impact on survivors. Mathé's story continues to be relevant to music historians and Holocaust scholars alike, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of music and historical trauma.
