Oldest living Holocaust survivor turns 107, celebrates humanity

Alice Herz-Sommer celebrates her 107th birthday today. As if that weren’t enough of a an accomplishment, she also happens to be the oldest living survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. Her love of music inspires her to live her life with optimism and faith in the human spirit, even though she lived through one of the most horriying ordeals any human can imagine. Vincent Dowd, arts correspondent for the BBC, visits Alice to hear her story.

In the concentration camp where she was imprisoned, Alice played more than 100 concerts, and she credits music for saving her life during this unspeakable experience that robbed her of her mother, father and husband.

She gained international fame after a book based on her life, “A Garden of Eden In Hell,” became a bestseller. She was also the star of a prize-winning documentary film called “Everything is a Present.” And now a new documentary, “Alice Dancing Under the Gallows,” chronicles her life, optimism, and passion.