Yehudi Menuhin — violinist with roots in the Russian Empire
Yehudi Menuhin was an American-British violinist and conductor born in New York to parents from Belarus and Crimea (Russian Empire) who became one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He performed for the victims of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp days after liberation and later championed human rights and cross-cultural exchange worldwide.
Tracing the roots — Gomel (Bel) / Crimea
Born in New York in 1916 to Moshe Menuhin from Gomel (Russian Empire, now Belarus) and Marutha Sher from Crimea, Yehudi grew up in a Russian-Jewish household immersed in music and Zionist idealism. His performance at Bergen-Belsen in 1945 — one of the first cultural events after liberation — was one of the most powerful acts of bearing witness in the 20th century.
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Gomel (Bel) / Crimea. At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.