Wladyslaw Szpilman

                                        By, Mac Oberschelp

        Made famous through Adrien Brody's wonderful portrayal in the story "The Pianist,"  Wladyslaw Szpilman's life was an inspiring tale that deserved to be told.  Growing up, Wladyslaw Szpilman always helped to provide for his family.  As a gifted pianist, he worked on the Polish radio; displaying his musical talents.  During the Holocaust, Wladyslaw Szpilman never stopped trying to support and protect his family.  Even as the Polish radio was being destroyed by the Nazis, Wladyslaw Szpilman was playing "Nocturne in C Minor" by Fredrick Chopin.  Szpilman was aided by friends, avoided capture, and used every possible means to fight for survival.  Wladyslaw Szpilman survived for six years until the war ended and continued to play Polish radio; making the story of his life truly miraculous. 

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His Family:

      Wladyslaw Szpilman was born into the Polish-Jewish Szpilman family on December 5, 1911 (Lee).  Possessing incredible musical ability, Wladyslaw Szpilman played the piano, tirelessly, to provide for his brother, two sisters, mother and sickly father before and during the Holocaust (Lee).  Wladyslaw was unfortunately the only one in his family to survive the Holocaust, thanks in part to the assistance of Nazi officer Wilm Hosenfeld (Ackerman).  In 1950, Wladyslaw Szpilman fell in love with and married a doctor named Halina Grzecznarowski (Wikipedia).  In 1958, Halina and Wladyslaw Szpilman gave birth to their son Andrej (USHMM).  Andrej Szpilman has always expressed extreme gratitude to Hosenfeld for all that he did for his father and “has long called for Yad Vashem to honor Wilm Hosenfeld as Righteous Among Nations,” (Wikipedia, Wladyslaw Szpilman, Page 1).



Survival:

     In 1933, the Nazi party took over; Wladyslaw Szpilman was thirty years old (Lee).  When he was first held captive in the Warsaw ghetto in 1939, he provided for the Szpilman family by playing piano in a restaurant ("The Pianist"/Lee).  All throughout the Holocaust, Szpilman avoided capture by hiding with the aid of his friends from the Polish radio (Wikipedia).   In 1943, Wilm Hosenfeld, a Nazi-German officer, confronted him (Ackerman).  Shockingly, Hosenfeld helped Szpilman hide out for two years (1943-1945) until the war was over, providing him with food and shelter (Ackerman).  The overall struggle for Wladyslaw Szpilman was long, agonizing, and depressing, making true the statement, “Wladyslaw Szpilman was a courageous Holocaust survivor,” (ABC News, Peter Jennings with Wladyslaw Szpilman).

Musical Career:

    Growing up in Poland, Wladyslaw Szpilman was cut out to play piano (Lee).  Beginning at a young age, Wladyslaw displayed rare musical talent.  Years of hard work and practice paid off for him as he landed a job for Polish radio in 1935 (Lee).  For four years, Szpilman successfully composed and played piano live on the air (Lee).  In 1939, the first Nazi attack took place in Warsaw (Szpilman.net).  While this was going on, Wladyslaw Szpilman was on Polish radio (Warsaw Stories).  "In September 1939, the last Polish radio broadcast was a piano "Nocturne" by Fredrick Chopin, it was played by this man, Wladyslaw Szpilman." (ABC News, Peter Jennings with Wladyslaw Szpilman).

References:

Works Cited 

Ackerman, Gwen. “German Officer Made Famous in ‘The Pianist’ Named as Righteous.” www.Szpilman.net. N.p., 26 Mar. 2009. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.Szpilman.net/>.     

Bessman, Jim. “Szpilman Standards Enjoy Renaissance.” Middle Search Plus. N.p., 23 Nov. 2002. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/‌ehost>.     

Jennings, Peter. Peter Jennings Spot on Wladyslaw Szpilman. www.szpilman.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2010. <http://www.szpilman.net/‌abcnews.html>.     

Lee, Janie. “The Life of Wladyslaw Szpilman.” www.associatedcontent.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2010. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/‌article/‌39244/‌the_life_of_wladyslaw_szpilman_pg2.html?cat=38>.     

Leo, Spielman. Wladyslaw Szpilman, Warsar, Poland, 1946. 1946. www.ushmm.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.ushmm.org/‌museum/‌exhibit/‌focus/‌pianist/>.     

“The Pianist: About Wladyslaw Szpilman.” Film Scouts. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://filmscouts.com/‌SCRIPTs/‌matinee.cfm?Film=pianist2&File=3014>.     

The Real Pianist:Wladyslaw Szpilman Photos. 1936. Szpilman.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.szpilman.net>.     

Strainght Piano. N.d. Christian Rayntig’s Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://chrisk.name/‌rt.html>.     

Warsaw Stories:Wladyslaw Szpilman. N.d. www.eilatgordinlevitan.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/‌warsaw/‌w_pages/‌warsaw_stories_szpilman.html>.     

Wladyslaw and Halina Szpilman. N.d. szpilman.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.szpilman.net/>.     

“Wladyslaw Szpilman.” Wikipedia.org. N.p., 10 May 2010. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/‌wiki/‌Władysław_Szpilman>.     

Wladyslaw Szpilman. YouTube. N.p., 6 June 2008. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/‌watch?v=C8ECpeex5hc>.     

Wladyslaw Szpilman: The Original Recordings of the Pianist (APE). N.d. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://boxset.ru/‌tag/‌sony/‌page/‌5/>.     

Wladyslaw Szpilman With His Wife and Son Andrej. N.d. www.szpilman.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.szpilman.net/>.     

Wladyslaw with his Wife and Son Andrej. N.d. szpilman.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.szpilman.net>.