1) Władysław Szpilman is a Polish Jewish pianist who is playing on the radio in Warsaw when Germany invades Poland in 1939. 2) By 1940, Szpilman and his family are forced into the overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto, where conditions deteriorate and people starve. In 1942, Szpilman's family is transported to Treblinka but he is separated from them. 3) Szpilman goes into hiding with help from friends and narrowly escapes detection several times. In 1945, a German officer discovers Szpilman and provides him with food and shelter, saving his life.

1. Click to edit
Master title style

2. The plot
In September 1939,Wl. Szpilman, a Polish Jewish
pianist, is playing live on the radio in Warsaw when
the station is bombed during Nazi Germany’s invasion
of Poland. Hoping for a quick victory, Szpilman
rejoices with his family at home when learning that
Britain and France hane declared war on Germany.
But the promised aid does not come. Fighting lasts
for just over a month, with both the German and
Soviet armies invading Poland at the same time on
different fronts. Warsaw becomes part of the Nazi-
controlled General Goverment. Jews are soon
prevented from working or owning businesses, and
are also made to wear blue Star of David armbands.

3. The plot
By November 1940, Szpilman and his family are forced from their home
into the overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto, where conditions only get
worse. People starve, the guards are brutal, and starving children are
abandoned in the streets. On one occasion, the Szpilmans witness
the SS kill an entire family in an apartment across the street during a
round-up.

4. The plot
• On 16 August 1942, Szpilman and his family are transported to Treblinka
extermination camp. But a friend in the Jewish Ghetto Police recognizes
Władysław at the Umschlagplatz and separates him from his family. He
becomes a slave labourer and learns of a coming Jewish revolt. He helps the
resistance by smuggling weapons into the ghetto, on one occasion narrowly
avoiding a suspicious guard. Szpilman eventually manages to escape, and
goes into hiding with help from a non-Jewish friend and his wife.

5. The plot
• In April 1943, Szpilman watches from his window as the Warsaw
Ghetto Uprising, which he aided, unfolds, and then ultimately fails.
After a neighbor discovers Szpilman in the flat, he is forced to flee to
a second hiding place. The new room has a piano in it, but he is
compelled to keep quiet, while beginning to suffer from jaundice.

6. The plot
In August 1944 the Armia Krajowa attacks a German
building across the street from Szpilman's hideout.
Tank shells hit the apartment, forcing him to flee.
Over the course of the following months, Warsaw is
destroyed. Szpilman is left alone to search
desperately for shelter and supplies among the ruins.
He eventually makes his way to a house where he
finds a can of pickled cucumbers.

7. The plot
While trying to open it, he is discovered by
Wehrmacht officer Wilm Hosenfeld who learns that
Szpilman is a pianist. He asks Szpilman to play on a
grand piano in the house. The decrepit Szpilman
manages to play Chopin's “Balade in G minor".
Hosenfeld lets Szpilman hide in the attic of the empty
house. From here, he is regularly supplied with food
by the German officer.

8. The plot
• In January 1945, the Germans are retreating from the Red Army. Hosenfeld meets
Szpilman for the final time, promising he will listen to him on Polish Radio after the
war. He gives Szpilman his greatcoat to keep warm, and leaves. In Spring 1945,
former inmates of a Nazi concentration camp pass a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp
holding captured German soldiers and verbally abuse them. Hosenfeld, who is
among those captured, overhears an inmate lament over his former career as a
violinist. He asks the violinist if he knows Szpilman, which he confirms. Hosenfeld
wishes for Szpilman to return the favor and help release him. Sometime later, the
violinist is able to bring Szpilman back to the site, but they find it abandoned.

9. Comment
What most shocking, most emotional, most magnificent?
Excellent film from all angles. A hymn to man, whose dignity and integrity of
character can be maintained under any circumstances.