36 pages • 1 hour read
Władysław SzpilmanThe Pianist
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1946A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: “My Father Bows to the Germans”
In the winter months after Poland’s surrenderto Germany in 1939,“Warsaw suddenly and completely unexpectedly returned to its old way of life” (48). Residents improve their circumstances by secretly trading in money, diamonds, flour, leather, or forged documents. They do so in violation of many German decrees aimed at controlling the city. As time goes on, the Germans target some decrees directly at Jews, such as the one stating that Jews may keep no more than 2000 złoty at home. Many decide to hide their valuables, as do the Szpilmans. Another decree states that Jews must bow to German soldiers in the street. While Władysław and his brother Henryk do everything in their power to avoid soldiers, Father Szpilman goes out of his way to bow and smile with “ironic grace” (49).
“Race raids” also begin; men in cars pull Jews over on the street and beat them (43). While the direct decrees do not carry much weight, “the real danger was what could happen to you totally unexpectedly, out of the blue sky” (45). By December, a “wall of hatred” rises between the Germans and Poles when the Germans execute 100 innocent citizens (44). Though many residents (some successful, others not) try to leave Warsaw, the Szpilmans remain.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Are You Jews”
In November 1939, Władysław, Henryk, and Father have “our first contact with the German way of death” (51). Returning home after curfew, Germans soldiers stop the men, push them against a wall, and Władysław convinces himself they are about to die. After telling the soldiers that they are musicians, however, the Germans release the family.
The Germans issue more decrees, one stating that Jews must wear white arm bands sewn with a blue Star of David design. In January and February of 1940, the Germans announce that men 12-60 years old and women 14-45 years old must perform two years of labor in concentration camps to receive “appropriate social education” (55). They also decree the Jewish Council must be responsible for registering all of the Jews. The Council allows members of the “intelligentsia” (those with wealth and/or those who are educated) to be spared; they can pay 1000 złoty to have a member of the working class take their places (55). The decrees, however, do not immediately come to pass.
Tensions between the Germans and Jews relax over the next several months, until Paris falls to the Axis and the Germans “now had time to think of us again” (57). In September 1940, the first transports bring Jews to labor camps in Bełzec and Hrubieszów. There, they work on drainage systems, receive little food, and many contract tuberculosis. On November 15, 1940, the gates of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw officially close, and all Jews are relegated to this part of the city.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Dancing in Chłodna Street”
This chapter moves freely in time and depicts Władysław’s general feelings and experiences over his two years in the ghetto, from 1940 to 1942. Of this two-year experience, he notes “I cannot break it up into smaller sections that would impose some chronological order on it, as you usually dowhen writing a journal” (61). Every day, Władysław adheres to the same ritual. In the morning, he sets out to visit Jehuda Zyskind, an “idealist socialist” (69). There, he reads secret announcements that Jehuda collects by radio. Władysław walks home the same way every day and stops to visit friends and share the secret news. He stops by Nowolipki street to collect Henryk, who spends his mornings there trading books. The two brothers return home for a midday meal shared by the entire family.
The author describes a large and small ghetto, the former of which is extremely crowded and filled with those in dire poverty. Those who are so poor that they must steal food to survive are known as “grabbers” (73). The author narrates an instance in which an elderly grabber lunges at an elderly woman holding a can of soup. He does not succeed in grabbing it, but instead knocks it over and proceeds to lap it from the ground.
The smaller ghetto is less crowded and populatedby the wealthier members of the Jewish intelligentsia. Throughout the whole ghetto, feelings of impending doom are strong: “We felt with our entire being that something dreadful would happen at any moment” (64).
The Germans soldiers are “authorized to steal by decree,” robbing many possessions from the Jews in the ghetto (61). They also perform a game for their amusement on the very busy Chłodna street. As people wait to cross, the Germans summon musicians from side streets. They then pick “comic” looking people and order them to dance waltzes with each other (66).
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
These chapters introduce the idea of musical transcendence. Music is something that allows Władysław and other Jews to remove themselves from the reality of their confinement to the ghetto. Władysław notes that Father goes back to playing his violin, “returning to that other world of music, where he was happiest” (43). Music allows him to escape the harsh world that surrounds him. When the Germans stop Władysław, Henryk, and Father after curfew, the Germans spare the men because they are musicians. The German solider notes “Lucky for you I’m a musician too!” (53), and allows the family to return home. Here, music transcends racial divides and allows the family to escape what Władysław assumes is certain death.
Władysław’s ironic tone continues in these chapters, providing commentary on the worsening quality of life: “A life lived under constant threat of the death penalty, but spent cheerfully in luxurious restaurants” (48). Here, he satirizes some of the wealthier Jews, whose money allows them to spend time in restaurants and ignore some of the abject poverty surrounding them. He continues, “The luckiest found rooms available in Sienna Street, which was to be the Champs-Élyséesof the ghetto” (59). The Champs-Élysées is an upscale area of Paris, which he humorously compares to the nicest section of the ghetto. All of these ironic comments serve as a contrast to the increasing level of injustice suffered by the Jews at the hands of the Germans. They also point to the deep social divide between rich and poor Jews.
We learn more about Władysław’s character in these chapters. It is tested by the worsening circumstances, but he maintains a sense of integrity and pride. When the Germans decree that Jews must bow to them, Władysław tries his best only to go out after dark, noting,“This idiotic and humiliating requirement made Henryk and me incandescent with rage” (49). When the family is detained by soldiers after curfew, Father kneels and begs for their lives. Władysław, however, remains calmer and questions his father’s actions: “How could he demean himself so?” (52). In this instance, Władysław perceives this treatment as an assault on his integrity. He refuses to placate or play into this new power structure. Instead, he does his best to remove himself from it. When confronted, he does not grovel, but rather maintains his sense of dignity.
