In September 1939, World War II began with
Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Upon reaching Warsaw, the Nazis set up a
ghetto for the Jews, and things appeared alright at first, perhaps just a
little tense. Yet things escalated, and the true purpose of Germany was
revealed: all Jews were to be killed.
The Pianist is a memoir by Wladyslaw Szpilman, a
Polish Jew. In his book, Szpilman recalls his time in the Jewish ghetto of
Warsaw as he struggled to survive and hide from Nazi soldiers. It was published
following the war, but because the Soviet Union disapproved, it was banned. It
was not until the late 1990's that it was republished in German and English. It
was later adapted into a film version, though Szpilman passed away before the
movie was completed.
SUMMARY
The Pianist's author is also the main
character (as this is an autobiographical memoir), Wladyslaw Szpilman in the
1930's, at both Berlin, Germany, and Warsaw, Poland. When the Nazis rose to
power, Szpilman returned to Poland in 1933.
He begins working for the Polish Radio until Germany
invades in the fall of 1939. The station goes off air as he plays one of
Chopin's Nocturnes. Not long after, Warsaw surrenders to Germany. The Nazis put
up notices for the Poles: they will be cared for by Germany. There is even a
special section for Jews! This is a relief for many Jews, though some still
suspected treachery.
It doesn't take long for the true intentions of the
Nazis to be made clear. Raids occur all over Warsaw, in which Jews are abused.
A little later, Jews are required to hand in property and valuables to the
German state; Jewish families are permitted to own only a small portion of
money, regardless of the family's size.
The Szpilmans did not go along with their enemies and
instead hid their money and valuables in strategic places around their home.
But by the time 1940 came around, a section of Warsaw had been blocked with
walls, and rumors circulated that this was to be the ghetto for Jews.
Still, Szpilman and his family were fortunate enough
to already be living within the ghetto walls; they would not have to evacuate
and be subject to Nazi abuse...yet.
The ghetto quickly became a terrible place to live: full
of fear, unsanitary, under the watchful eye of Nazis. However, the worst was
yet to come, but Wladyslaw would (quite miraculously) survive the horrors of
occupation under the Third Reich.
CONTENT
As a memoir of the Nazi Holocaust, The
Pianist has much strong violence, some of it told in detail. It
includes (but is not limited to) shootings, beatings, verbal insults, and mass
murder. In one part, an elderly Jew cannot move because he is paralyzed from
the waist down. Nazi soldiers take the chair in which he sits and throw him out
the window, where the man hangs in a tree. There is another scene in which Jews
are instructed to lie on the ground; a Nazi commander then calmly walks down
the row, shooting each Jew.
There are occasional uses of G*d and only once is
d*** used.
I recall no sexual content, for which I was glad.
However, this was a non-fictional book, and there were not many places where
such things would fit.
The Pianist is a good story of one man's
survival of brutal tyranny and death. Christians who read the memoir will
clearly see God's hand in this man's life, whether he recognized it or
not.
Szpilman's memoir delves into the human psychology of
a wartime Polish Jew. There are many rewarding scenes in the book, but this book
will likely leave you with a sick feeling of those who did not make it out of
the ghetto alive. And this is right, as human lives are created by God. As
Scripture tells us, man is made in the likeness of God, our Creator.
Yet this book also proves that not all Germans of the
time were like the Nazis, as Winston Churchill led Great Britain to believe.
Even some of the soldiers were compassionate, as one sees in the memoir.
I would say this book is targeted mainly for adults.
I am not suggesting that teens should not read this book (as I did), but no
one, even adults, should read this book lightly. The Pianist is
a remarkable account of German invasion and the war years in Warsaw, but it is
also a grave story of man's depravity without God, when he is left to himself.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Number of pages: 224
Author of book: Wladyslaw Szpilman
Published in: 1946 (under the name Death of a City),
1998 (German/English editions), 2002 (movie tie-in edition)
Primary audience: Adults
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