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Cover of The Pianist by Władysław Szpilman

The Pianist

Władysław Szpilman

  • 222 pages · about 4 hours
  • First published 1946
  • 55 editions
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1 About this book

A Jewish pianist's real-life account of survival in World War II Warsaw. Separated in a mêlée, he fights to rejoin his family as they board the death train, but police block him. "Papa!" he cries. The father waves, "as if I were setting out into life and he was already greeting me from beyond the grave."

Good for readers who want: a true life story, history, and World War II history.

  • Biography
  • Jewish people, biography
  • History
  • Jewish people
  • Holocaust
  • Personal narratives
  • World War II
  • Genocide

2 About Władysław Szpilman

1911–2000

Władysław Szpilman (Polish pronunciation: ; 5 December 1911 – 6 July 2000) was a Polish Jewish pianist, classical composer and Holocaust survivor. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the Roman Polanski film The Pianist, which was based on his autobiographical account of how he survived the German occupation of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising. Szpilman studied piano at music academies in Berlin and Warsaw.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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