Szymon Laks

Simon (Szymon) Laks (1 November 1901 – 11 December 1983) was a Polish composer and violinist, who became head of the prisoners' orchestra at Birkenau-Auschwitz. Simon Laks was born in Warsaw on 1 November 1901. He was born a Russian citizen. He studied mathematics in Vilnius and Warsaw. In 1921, he entered the Conservatoire of Warsaw, the capital of the newly independent Poland. He became a Polish citizen. In 1924, the Warsaw Philharmonic played one of his works in public for the first time.