# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/ilse-totzke
# Generated: 2026-08-14T13:58:15.322Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/ilse-totzke"
name: "Ilse Totzke"
slug: "ilse-totzke"
description: "Ilse Sonja Totzke (1913–1987) was a German musician who had studied in Würzburg where she made a number of Jewish friends. After the Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935, she was reported to the Gestapo for associating with Jews but it was not until 1941 that she was warned not to continue these relationships. In late 1942, she nevertheless began a friendship with Ruth Basinski, a Jew, with whom she attempted to flee to Switzerland the following February. They reached the border but the Swiss guards handed them over to the Germans. Basinski was sent to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp while Totzke was returned to Würzburg. After insisting on maintaining relationships with her Jewish friends, she was sent to the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp in May 1943. A gifted flautist, Basinski became a member of the Auschwitz orchestra. Totzke survived until she was liberated in April 1945. Totzke was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in March 1995."
tagline: "German musician, Holocaust survivor"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Ilse_Sonja_Totzke.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "female"
country:
  name: "Germany"
  isoCode: "DE"
category:
  name: "Musicians"
  slug: "musicians"
profileType:
  name: "Singer / Musician"
  slug: "singer"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q177220"
birthDate: "1913-08-04"
deathDate: "1987-03-23"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           42.72
  momentum:             4.225352112676055
  historical:           6.744205333333334
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     39.99999999999999
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "RISING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Totzke"
    title: "Ilse Totzke"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Totzke"
    title: "Ilse Totzke"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Totzke"
    title: "Ilse Totzke"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Totzke"
    title: "Ilse Totzke"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Totzke"
    title: "Ilse Totzke"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%96%D7%94_%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%A7%D7%94"
    title: "אילזה טוצקה"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilse_Totzke"
    title: "Ilse Totzke"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28000293"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump