Risen from the Ashes: Tales of a Musical Messenger

Risen from the Ashes is one man’s memoir of hope and survival during the Holocaust. Having cheated death four times through perseverance, hope, faith, and humor, Hans Cohn vividly narrates his experience from the horrors of the past to spiritual renewal.

Cantor Hans Cohn was born in 1926 in Berlin, Germany. In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, his family fled to Shanghai where he remained until 1946. After coming to America in 1947, he attended Hebrew Union College-School of Sacred Music, where he received his Cantor’s degree. He studied voice with Alexander Kipnis at the Manhattan School of Music. He earned his Masters in Education from Stanford University. He served as the Cantor at Temple Beth Jacob in Redwood City, California for 31 years until his retirement in 1994. In 2002, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Hebrew Union College. He resides in Palo Alto, California and is still an active member of his temple and community.