When wwii broke out, szpilman was a talented young jewish pianist in warsaw. The pianist is a memoir by the polishjewish pianist and composer wladyslaw szpilman in. He held the command not to kill higher than any of the commands to kill innocent civilians. Wilms patriotic ideas made him feel attracted to nationalsocialism in 1933, joining the nsdap in 1935, although he did not share the antisemitism of the nazis nor their hostility to the catholic church. The film the pianist is moving, but this book adds more detail and is even more moving. Physically unfit for a life of hard labor in the ghetto work crew, szpilman is again spared when a coworker arranges for his escape with the aid of a dear musician friend dorota and her husband. A pecking order of righteousness haaretz israel news.
Some days later, szpilman searched the building for food. The pianist won the cannes film festivals most prestigious prizethe palme dor. A devout catholic, he was active in catholic action lay catholics who wanted a germany that was more well, catholic. Based on the autobiographical book by wladyslaw szpilman, the pianist tells the story of szpilmans struggle to survive the nazi occupation of poland during world war ii. The pianist ebook by wladyslaw szpilman rakuten kobo. This book includes a foreword by andrzej szpilman, excerpts from hosenfelds diary, and an epilogue in the form of an essay by wolf biermann. Prior to the capture of the city by the soviets, hosenfeld sent his exercise books filled with notes to his family in germany. Defying the nazis german captain wilm hosenfeld is most known for helping to save the life of wladyslaw szpilman, an extraordinary pianist subject of the movie the pianist, who survived the holocaust partly because of hosenfeld s actions. The name wilm hosenfeld came to fame in connection with the 2002 movie, the pianist. The nazis used this notorious, walled slum to imprison polish jews until. I will be talking about a book i read called the pianist by wladyslaw szpilman and the corresponding film by the same name directed by roman polanski. The pianist seventyfifth anniversary edition wladyslaw. Hosenfeld secretly supplied the polish pianist with both material and. Though he had joined the nazi party in 1935, hosenfeld soon.
The scene in which hosenfeld asks szpilman to play the piano is often referred to by those who assume that hosenfeld spared szpilman because he recognized szpilmans great talent. Nearly 70 years after his death, wilm hosenfeld stands today as a shining example of. Berlin german officer wilhelm wilm hosenfeld saved two jews from the nazi holocaust, including wladyslaw szpilman, whose story was the basis of the oscarwinning film the pianist. Written in the immediate aftermath of the war, the pianist conveys a shattering immediacy found in few books about that time and stands as a stunning testament to human endurance and healing through compassion. In the book, the pianist referred to the german officer as the only human being. Why did the first race of men come to such a tragic end. One such man was wilm hosenfeld, and while he managed to save several people from death, he eventually met a tragic end. When the germans load most of the jews on trains bound for the camps, szpilman is spared when a guard recognizes him as the pianist. Szpilman headed quickly away from his old building and soon found another, similar building that he could live in.
With a focus on chronology and facts, the book does not overtly state the irony that a nazi could defy the nazis when the whole system was. The pianist won the cannes film festivals most prestigious prize the palme dor. Read the pianist the extraordinary true story of one mans survival in warsaw, 19391945 by wladyslaw szpilman available from rakuten kobo. Jun 15, 2019 hosenfeld s moral conscience led him to reject this brutality and become a rescuer, often at the risk of his own life. The extraordinary true story of one mans survival in warsaw, 19391945 by szpilman, wadysaw.
Nazi officer wilm hosenfeld who saved the pianist wladyslaw. His family was catholic and he grew up in a pious and conservative german patriotic environment. Defying the nazis is the first english biography of wilm hosenfeld. The extraordinary true story of one mans survival in warsaw, 19391945 by hosenfeld, wilm,szpilman, wladyslaw,szpilman, wadysaw and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Hosenfeld s heroic efforts to save polish citizens was mostly unknown until a scene in the oscarwinning film the pianist brought to the publics attention a man whose compassion saved more than 60 people. Wilhelm adalbert hosenfeld originally a school teacher, was a german army officer who by the. That man was wilhelm adalbert hosenfeld, born on may 2, 1895 in mackenzell, hessenassau, prussia then a part of the german empire. Wilm hosenfeld was born on may 2, 1895, in rhoendorf mackenzell, the fourth of six children in a very religious catholic family.
The book was first published in polish in 1946 as smierc miasta. Winner of the prestigious golden palm award at the 2002 cannes film festival, the pianist is the film that roman polanski was born to direct. The extraordinary story of one mans survival in warsaw, 193945 new ed by szpilman, wladyslaw isbn. He did save various jews from their terrible fate though, and szpilman was one of them. Together with thomas kretschmann as captain wilm hosenfeld the film won three oscars for.
He helped to hide or rescue several polish people as well as jews in nazioccupied poland. Captain wilm hosenfeld the officer seen in the film was one of the few christians left in nazi occupied europe. Nazi officer wilm hosenfeld idolised true genius hitler, but became. By the time world war ii broke out, hosenfeld was married and had five children. The life of german officer wilm hosenfeld, young readers edition. Wilm hosenfeld, a man of courage the story of wilm hosenfeld. The extraordinary true story of one mans survival in warsaw, 19391945 by wladyslaw szpilman. Wilm hosenfelds heroism was not known outside of poland until szpilmans bestselling memoir the pianist revealed an amazing man whose compassion saved more than 60 people from the nazis clutches. Like many germans, he saw the nazis as a movement of national recovery after the humiliating german defeat of 1918 and the serious crisis of. Film analysis the pianist based on the autobiographical book by wladyslaw szpilman, the pianist tells the story of szpilmans struggle to survive the nazi livelihood of poland during world war ii. German officer who saved the pianist honored ap by david rising and mary lane, associated press writers fri jun 19, 9. With the destruction of warsaw, we are erecting the final monument for this policy.
Wilm hosenfeld was a german army officer who served as a captain hauptmann during the second world war. Szpilman, a talented jewish pianist and composer, witnessed firsthand horrors of the warsaw ghetto. Comment on hosenfeld in conjunction with roman polanskis filmthe pianist. Like his father, he became a teacher, and in 1920 he married annemarie krummacher, the daughter of a painter. After being forced with his family to live in the warsaw ghetto, szpilman manages to avoid deportation to the treblinka extermination camp, and from his hiding places around the city witnesses the warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943. The pianist is a 2002 historical drama film directed by roman polanski. It was the only multistory building in the area and, as was now his custom, szpilman made his way up to the attic.
His name was wilhelm hosenfeld and this is his story. Thanks to the pianist, wilm hosenfeld was drawn out of obscurity. Wladyslaw szpilman started playing for polish radio in 1935 as their house pianist. After serving as a soldier in world war i, he became a teacher, and taught at a local school. Wilm hosenfeld is the author of ich versuche jeden zu retten. The pianist is a book so fresh and vivid, so heartbreaking, and so simply and. Mar 12, 2014 pieces of wilms journal are included into the memoir of the pianist, and show us a different angle of the german officers. In reality, szpilman was just one of many poles and jews that wilm hosenfeld saved from death until his capture by the soviets in 1945. I only see the person in front of me hermann vinke. This edition includes a foreword by andrzej szpilman, extracts from the diary of wilm hosenfeld, and an epilogue by wolf biermann. Hosenfeld doesnt approve with the situation at all, but isnt able to do anything about it by himself. After being forced with his family to live in the warsaw ghetto, szpilman manages to avoid deportation to the treblinka extermination camp, and from his hiding places around the. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the 2002 roman polanski film the pianist, which was based on szpilmans autobiographical account of how he survived the german occupation of warsaw and the holoc.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. May 09, 2019 hosenfeld s heroic efforts to save polish citizens was mostly unknown until a scene in the oscarwinning film, the pianist, brought to the publics attention a man who compassion saved more than 60 people. This book includes a foreword by andrzej szpilman, excerpts from hosenfeld s diary, and an epilogue in the form of an essay by wolf biermann. Behind the story of the survival of the jewishpolish pianist wladyslaw szpilman in the warsaw ghetto, which recently received worldwide renown in the wake of roman polanskis film, the pianist, lies a trenchant dispute with yad vashem. Wilm hosenfeld was born on may 2, 1895 and started out his career as a schoolteacher.
This is a book which should be on everyones bucket list. Many germans ignored hitlers orders late in the war and a large number never knew about the final solution. Hosenfeld, unnamed, appears in a short scene in the academy awardwinning film of the same name. We are drawn in to share his surprise and then disbelief at the horrifying progress of events, all conveyed with an understated intimacy and dailiness that render them painfully close. More specifically, i will be focusing on the protagonist wladyslaw szpilman since it is his memoir who is played by adrien brody in the film. Warsaw memories, named wladyslaw szpilman as the sole author. Szpilman, a talented jewish pianist and composer, witnessed firsthand the horrors of the warsaw ghetto. The bestselling memoir of a jewish pianist who survived the war in warsaw against all odds. Defying the nazis is the first english biography of wilm. A striking holocaust memoir that conveys with exceptional immediacy and cool reportage the authors desperate fight for survival and the german who came to his aid. Nov 27, 2015 nazi officer wilm hosenfeld idolised true genius hitler, but became horrified by atrocities he witnessed in warsaw and vowed to help who i can, including pianist wladyslaw szpilman. Wilm hosenfeld s heroism was not known outside of poland until szpilmans bestselling memoir the pianist revealed an amazing man whose compassion saved more than 60 people from the nazis clutches. A childhood survivor of nazioccupied poland, polanski was uniquely suited to tell the story of wladyslaw szpilman, a polish jew and concert pianist played by adrien brody who witnessed the nazi invasion of warsaw, miraculously eluded the nazi death.
For the film by roman polanski, see the pianist 2002 film. Jul 06, 2000 szpilman did not identify the german officer until 1950. Wilm hosenfeld bio, facts, family life, achievements. Pages can include considerable notes in pen or highlighterbut the notes cannot obscure. Wilhelm adalbert hosenfeld the german who saved the. In 2008, hosenfeld was honored by yad vashem as a righteous among the nations. Despite the efforts of szpilman and the poles to rescue hosenfeld, he died in a soviet prisoner of war camp in 1952. Hosenfeld describes the order hitler had given to raze warsaw to the ground. Knowing the various places spielman lived in warsaw was particularly interesting for me. Roman polanskis new movie, the pianist, is based on the memoirs of wladyslaw szpilman, a star of polish radio and cafe society in the 1930s and a. The pianist is a memoir by the polishjewish pianist and composer wladyslaw szpilman in which he describes his life in warsaw in occupied poland during world war ii.
1146 1125 437 1162 1027 1506 880 1262 714 1001 1446 229 610 862 960 1429 907 1580 908 1112 412 1159 189 876 1537 1192 1147 226 498 293 529 1335 1392 251 876 1259 1474