A HUNGARIAN Holocaust survivor, who lost fifty members of her family in Auschwitz and now lives in London, shared her testimony to a full house during an event at the Calne Music and Arts Festival.

Susan Pollack captivated the audience at Marden House on Saturday, as she recalled how her family alongside millions of others were condemned to death in the depths of the extermination camps during the Nazi's Final Solution.

"When I introduced the afternoon, which was her talk and the music from two composers who did not survive the Holocaust, I introduced it as the triumph of human spirit," chair Hilary Wright explained. "Susan's story is a triumph of human spirit as are the stories of the two composers, as their spirits live on because their music is here in Calne."

Born in 1930, Mrs Pollack told the crowd at Marden House about the rise of anti-Semitism, the conditions in the camps and how she met Josef Mengele, known as the Angel of Death, and lived to tell the tale.

The audience were also intrigued to hear how Mrs Pollack also testified against the so-called Bookkeeper of Auschwitz, Oskar Gröning, last year in one of the last major Nazi trials, where he was found guilty of facilitating mass murder and sentenced to four years imprisonment.

"A lot of people asked questions and they were very interesting," Mrs Wright said. "They ranged from the extent her experience had affected her faith in God and she was very interesting and she said she continues to go to synagogue's but she is a reformed Jew.

"Her message was to make sure that the Holocaust was never forgotten but it was also one of moving forward and I think that is quite an important message. She reminded us that survival is about going forwards but for some survivors it was just too much."

The talk was followed by the works of Erwin Schulhoff and Leo Smit, along with popular songs by Kurt Weill performed by Michelle Sheridan-Grant, Vitoria Benjamin, Simon Parker, John Kane and Alta Ridgeway and Mrs Wright said it was the perfect way to end the event.

She said: Michelle's voice is superb and absolutely stunning and the whole evening was well received. Susan came down from North London, so it was quite a trek for her and it is quite an honour that she came. It was good because it was balanced between the words and the music and people went out on a high.

"I don't think Susan left them with depressing thoughts - I think she left them with hope."

For more information on Calne Music and Arts Festival, which runs until Sunday, October 16, visit www.cmaf.org.uk.