The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945

Rating:
Summary: An Essential Personal Library Book to be Shared Widely
Review: No educated person can take that moniker without knowing of this heroic and miraculous story of humanity, faith, and hope.

I saw the film (Oscar Winner Adrien Brody in the role of Szpilman, and Thomas Kretschmann in the role of Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld) in Austin, Texas, where it had a very short run, and few were in the theater of a major cineplex two weeks after its release. It should be re-released, every year or so, with great fanfare. I can think of few Oscar-winning movies save "The Pianist" that were not massively re-released, but I find no evidence this was.

However, in print, the story is even more moving, in the words of the protagonists. It is more the amazing not only that Szpilman survived, yet is quite unknown to Americans, but also that Wilm Hosenfeld is virtually unknown, even amongst Jews and the Liberal political crowd. This is abominable.

I have read another book of the collected letters of Hosenfeld, in German, titled "Ich suche jeden zu retten: Das Leben eines deutschen Offiziers in Briefen and Tagebüchern"--literally, I seek someone to rescue: The life of a German officer in letters and daybooks. Daily journals are not a tradition here in America, but the are and were in Germany, and are a rich source of information about a person's motives and thinking behind public actions.

In light of the current controversy of the participation of German Police and the Army (Wehrmacht), once thought apolitical, in the so-called "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" (Endlösung der Judenfrage), Hosenfelds words are all the more piercing. One must also read Hilliard's "Surviving the Americans" to help round out what is still obscure but crucial history of the 20th Century.

Whether you need large print or not, please do read this amazing true story.