Pierre Wolkowicz's Violin and Last Letter

Pierre Wolkowicz lived with his mother, Berthe and his father, Max in Paris, France.  During the infamous Vel d'Hiv round-up of 16-17 July 1942, Max was summarily taken to the concentration camps of Pithiviers and Drancy, and then deported to Auschwitz.  Pierre and his mother were incarcerated in the Velodrome d'Hiver (Winter Stadium) for five horrific days and were then sent on to Pithiviers.  The fifteen-year-old Pierre was eventually forcibly separated from his mother, and Berthe was taken to Drancy.  Pierre was sent there shortly afterwards, and on 26 August 1942, mother and son were both deported on Convoy #24 to Auschwitz, where they were murdered