At the end of World War II, 40 chosen women escaped the fate of millions of European Jews - the Nazi gas chambers -- by being selected to perform in the Auschwitz concentration camp's Women's Orchestra. Their reprieve, however, had its own terrible price. They knew that as they played for arriving convoys of prisoners, sometimes recognizing friends and family in the crowd, the condemned had a short time to live. Their music was intended to make the unsuspecting arrivals more docile as they were escorted into "showers" which were, in fact, gas chambers. BACH IN AUSCHWITZ tells the heartbreaking stories of 12 of the musicians when the "CINEMAX Reel Life" documentary debuts TUESDAY, SEPT. 14 (6:00-7:45 p.m. ET).

Other playdate: Sept. 22 (12:15 p.m.).

In 1943, the Nazi SS picked 150 women from among new prisoners to audition for the orchestra. Although the 40 chosen did not know it at the time, playing in the orchestra would save many of their lives. One of the conductors was prisoner Alma Rosé, niece of the German composer Gustav Mahler and a gifted violinist in her own right; she would ultimately die in Auschwitz of a brain abscess. After their liberation, the women dispersed throughout the world. Most had never discussed their experience publicly, except to comment on former member Fania Fenelon's book, "Reprieve for the Orchestra," and its TV version, "Playing for Time," adapted by Arthur Miller and starring Vanessa Redgrave.

Telling their stories for BACH IN AUSCHWITZ are (country of interview in parenthesis):

BACH IN AUSCHWITZ was written and directed by Michel Daëron; photography, Jacques Bouquin; editing, Eva Feigeles; original score, Martin Friedel; executive producer, Serge Lalou. For CINEMAX: executive producer, Sheila Nevins; supervising producer, Nancy Abraham.

"CINEMAX Reel Life" original documentaries have attracted numerous prestigious awards. "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien" received the 1997 Academy Award(r) for Documentary Short Subject. In addition, "CINEMAX Reel Life" presentations have received the News and Documentary Emmy(r) in the category of Outstanding Investigative Journalism for three straight years, for "The Dying Rooms" (1995), "The Selling of Innocents" (1996) and "Calling the Ghosts" (1997). "Jupiter's Wife" has been honored with a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and a News and Documentary Emmy,(r) while "The Search for Mother Russia's Children" also received a News and Documentary Emmy,(r) and "The Dying Rooms" also garnered a George Foster Peabody Award. Also, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" was just nominated for an Emmy(r) for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special.

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