You may recall “The Pianist.” The 2002 film was based on the autobiography of Władysław Szpilman, a Jewish musician who miraculously survived the Nazi occupation of Poland. His family was not so lucky. In 1942, they were deported to Treblinka. Szpilman was saved only by a friend in the Jewish Ghetto Police, who recognized him and pulled him out of line as his family boarded the train.
Two years later, Szpilman was hiding in an abandoned house when he was discovered by a German officer. To his surprise, the officer did not harm him or have him arrested. Rather, after learning that he was a musician, he asked Szpilman play him something on the piano. Szpilman played the Nocturne in C-sharp minor by Frederic Chopin. The officer listened and afterward helped him to find a better hiding place and smuggled him food.
If you haven’t seen the film, there’s a lot more to it than that. At the bottom of this post, you’ll find footage of the man upon whose life it was based. Adrien Brody played Szpilman in the movie, which was directed by Roman Polanski, who also lost family in the Holocaust. Both Brody and Polanski were recognized with Academy Awards.
Ironically, Chopin, for all his gifts, was anti-Semitic – which, it should be acknowledged, was not uncommon for his time and place. (He also disliked Russians and “Huns.”) Chopin regarded himself an aristocrat, a descendant of Polish nobility and a superior soul, with plenty of grievances across the board.
How fortunate for him that Jewish musicians have done so much down the years in looking past his shortcomings to celebrate his genius.
We don’t know for sure when Chopin was born, but it is commonly held that it was on this date in 1810. After all, Chopin and his mom said so. However, his baptismal certificate, filled out on April 23, gives his natal day as February 22. The Chopin Society UK, in defiance of the composer and his family, is inclined to agree.
Władysław Szpilman died in the year 2000 at the age of 88. He plays Chopin at the link.
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