Coco Schumann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Coco Schumann
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Schumann in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Heinz Jakob Schumann |
| Born | 14 May 1924 Berlin, Free State of Prussia, Weimar Republic |
| Died | 28 January 2018 (aged 93) Berlin, Germany |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader, writer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1940's – 2018 |
Heinz Jakob "Coco" Schumann (born May 14, 1924 – died January 28, 2018) was a German jazz musician. He was also a Holocaust survivor, meaning he lived through a very difficult time in history. After World War II, Coco Schumann became a famous jazz guitarist. He played with many well-known artists like Marlene Dietrich, Ella Fitzgerald, and Helmut Zacharias.
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Early Life and Music Beginnings
Coco Schumann was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1924. His family was well-off. His father, Alfred Schumann, was a war veteran who converted to Judaism after marrying Coco's mother, Hedwig. Hedwig worked as a hairdresser in her father's salon.
Coco got his nickname from a French girlfriend who found his first name, Jakob, hard to say. He fell in love with Swing jazz music after hearing it during the Berlin Olympics when he was young. As a teenager, he taught himself to play both the guitar and drums. He even played in different swing bands.
Surviving a Difficult Time
When he was 19, Coco Schumann was sent to Theresienstadt, a place where many Jewish people were held during World War II. There, he joined a jazz band called the Ghetto Swingers. Later, he and another musician, Martin Roman, were moved to Auschwitz.
Coco faced very dangerous situations. Once, a high-ranking officer asked him where he was from and what he did. Coco quickly said, "Berlin, sir! A plumber, sir!" This quick thinking helped him.
Just before the war ended, Coco became very sick with a serious illness that had killed many others. He fought high fevers and bad dreams for weeks. He was one of only two people to survive this illness. When he finally returned to Berlin, he learned that many of his family members had died. However, his parents were alive. His father had cleverly kept his Jewish wife hidden from the authorities by pretending she had died in a fire.
A Career in Jazz Music
After the war, Coco Schumann became a celebrated jazz guitarist. In 1950, he moved to Australia with his family but returned to Berlin in 1954. He played with many famous musicians, including Marlene Dietrich and Ella Fitzgerald. Later, he started his own group, the Coco Schumann Quartet.
Coco's amazing life story has been shared in different ways. A German graphic novel by Caroline Gille and Niels Schröder tells his true story in pictures. His autobiography, The Ghetto Swinger: A Berlin Jazz-Legend Remembers, was first published in 1997 and became a very popular book. In 2012, his story was even turned into a musical in Hamburg.
Coco often spoke about his experiences. He once said, "I am a musician who was imprisoned in concentration camps, not a concentration camp prisoner who plays music." This showed how important music was to his identity.
In 1944, Coco was filmed in Theresienstadt for a German documentary called Theresienstadt. Later, in 2013, he was featured in another documentary called Refuge in Music. This film was about the lives of Jewish musicians, composers, and artists during the time of the Third Reich.
Later Years and Passing
Coco Schumann passed away in Berlin on January 28, 2018. He was 93 years old.
