Wladyslaw Szpilman was a Jewish pianist living in Warsaw, Poland during World War II. He didn’t know that his musical abilities would save his own life.
You may have take heed the expression music saves . Well for Wladyslaw Szpilman , the expression read a literal import .
Born in Poland on December 5 , 1911 , Wladyslaw Szpilman took his first piano deterrent example with his mother . He could n’t have known at the time that this would be the first step in save his life .
Wikimedia Commons / GettyWladyslaw Szpilman and Officer Wilm Hosenfeld .
Wikimedia Commons/GettyWladyslaw Szpilman and Officer Wilm Hosenfeld.
He went on tostudyat the Higher School of Music in Warsaw from 1926 to 1930 and continued his studies in Berlin until 1933 before returning to Warsaw once again to take lessons until 1935 .
In 1935 , Wladyslaw Szpilman became the family pianist for Polish State Radio in Warsaw , play classical works and malarkey . He recreate for the tuner until September 1 , 1939 – the day Germany invaded Poland and set in motion the European theater ofWorld War II .
The Germans forced the Polish State Radio to close down . The last live program the people heard before the German occupation was Szpilman ’s performance of Chopin ’s Nocturne in C sharp small fry .
Imagno/Getty ImagesA dead man in the street surrounded by a crowd in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Wladyslaw Szpilman’s Life Under Nazi Rule
Wladyslaw Szpilman and his family were placed in theWarsaw Ghetto , the large of all the Jewish Ghettos established by the Nazis during World War II .
The exceedingly cramped ghetto imprisoned over 400,000 Jews and only provided minimum nutrient rations . In fact , a bulk of the intellectual nourishment was smuggle in illegally . Periodically , deportation would occur , forcing some to transfer to concentration camps .
Imagno / Getty ImagesA dead man in the street surrounded by a gang in the Warsaw Ghetto .
Wikimedia CommonsWładysław Szpilman’s picture at the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
There were still a few recreational installation in the ghetto and while he was confined , Szpilman cover to represent . In edict to support his family , he worked as a pianist at a Café called Café Nowaczesna .
The summer of 1942 was the outset of turgid - scale deportations to the immersion and death camps . Though able-bodied to keep safe for a little while , finally Szpilman and his family were ordered for transportation to Treblinka , an liquidation coterie in Poland . build specifically for expiry , Treblinka was only 2d to Auschwitz in casualty .
By some strange probability , a fellow member of the Jewish Ghetto Police recognized Szpilman from one of his concerts and pulled him away before he get on the wagon train . Though he had been rescued , Szpilman watched as his parent , brother , and two baby were shipped off to Treblinka . None of them would survive the warfare .
Wikimedia CommonsHistorical marker for Wladyslaw Szpilman in Warsaw, Poland.
Wladyslaw remained in the Ghetto , help smuggle in weapon for theJewish resistance rising . Then , on February 13 , 1943 , he managed to get away .
He hid in an abandoned building around Warsaw until August of 1944 , when he found an attic to hide in at 223 Niepoldleglosci , Warsaw , Poland . That was the reference Captain Wilm Hosenfeld — a World War I old-timer decorated with the iron cross first class for valour and member of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany — found Szpilman .
His Fortuitous Discovery By A Sympathetic Nazi
Wladyslaw Szpilman recite his encounter with Hosenfeld in his memoir , The Pianist : The Extraordinary True Story of One Man ’s Survival in Warsaw . “ I sat there groaning and gazing dully at the officer , ” he said .
Hosenfeld asked Szpilman what he did for a aliveness , to which he answer that he was a pianist . Hosenfeld then brought Wladyslaw Szpilman into the dining room of the house where there was a piano . He demand Szpilman play something .
Wikimedia CommonsWładysław Szpilman ’s picture at the Warsaw Uprising Museum .
His fingers were stiff and covered with dirt . He was rust from want of exercise . His nail were uncut . Nervously , Wladyslaw Szpilman brought his custody to the keys and began to play .
It was then that Hosenfeld state , after a moment of quiet , “ All the same , you should n’t stay here . I ’ll take you out of the city , to a village . You ’ll be safe there . ”
“ I ca n’t result this place , ” was Szpilman ’s response .
“ You ’re Jewish ? ” the ship’s officer asked .
“ Yes . ”
Though this clearly transfer thing for Hosenfeld , who antecedently thought Szpilman was a non - Jewish Pole hide after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising , he still did n’t report him .
or else , Wilm Hosenfeld enquire Szpilman to show him the Ionic dialect he had been hiding in . On their way up , Hosenfeld was able to see something Szpilman had n’t : a card that created a loft justly above the attic ’s entering . The slow igniter made it very hard to see , but , having an expert oculus , Hosenfeld was capable to . It was a better concealment place .
After that , Hosenfeld keep to keep Szpilan obscure . He brought him bread and jam periodically and left him a German military greatcoat to keep from freeze down .
The Germans were defeated in 1945 . Wladyslaw Szpilman had make it the warfare . He did n’t get word the name of the officer who helped him until 1950 .
Wilm Hosenfeld was later convicted of so-called state of war crimes and sentence to 25 twelvemonth of hard labor . Hosenfeld reportedly save other Jews during the warfare and while on trial he wrote a letter to his wife asking her to contact them to help with his firing , including Szpilman .
Wikimedia CommonsHistorical mark for Wladyslaw Szpilman in Warsaw , Poland .
In 1950 , with the seek assistance of the Polish secret police , Szpilman tried to help Wilm Hosenfeld but was ineffective to do so . Hosenfeld die in a Soviet prison house camp in 1952 .
Life After The War For Wladyslaw Szpilman
With the warfare at last over , Wladyslaw Szpilman picked up where he left off and continued to do what he make love best .
From 1945 through 1963 , Szpilmanplayed the keysand acted as the director of the music department for Polish Radio .
In addition to Hosenfeld , many others , includingIrena Sendler , add to Szpilman ’s survival during the Holocaust .
After his death in 2000 at the old age of 88 , his legacy and music were record in the 2002 Oscar - award winning film , The Pianist , boast Adrien Brody who pull ahead an Oscar for Best Actor for playing Szpilman .
However , the most fitting tribute come in 2011 when Polish Radio ’s Studio 1 was rename for Wladyslaw Szpilman .
After learning about Wladyslaw Szpilman and Wilm Hosenfeld , the story behind “ The Pianist , ” study abouthow Nocholas Winton saved hundreds from the Holocaust . Then take a look atthe horrific photo trance inside the Jewish Ghettos .
