The Pianist

“I lost two illusions here: my beliefs in our general solidarity and in the musicality of the Jews.”

As Władysław plays in the Warsaw ghetto cafes, he is disheartened when he witnesses the wealthy clientele talking loudly and ignoring his music. He notices the extremely divide between the wealthy and the poor, which is a large theme of the book. There is a difference between being a wealthy, connected Jew and a poor Jew: injustice reigns between classes, here.

“A grey-haired, clean-shaven gentleman […] remarked, ‘Really, this is no way to behave!’… ‘No, no, this won’t do!’”

These lines speak to the surreal way in which the German invasion unfolds for the Jews. An older gentleman utters these words, taken aback at the “bad behavior” that he witnesses. Throughout the memoir, the writer employs a darkly humorous tone to underline the atrocity as well as the unbelievable way the Germans treat the Jews.

“How was this war to be waged without piano accompaniment—what would it be like?”

The pianist Professor Ursztein makes this statement after Radio Poland is shut down. These lines point to the major theme of the importance of art and music. Without music, for this character, life does not make sense. Music is an integral part of life.

“If a bomb fell on the building beneath which you were hiding, it meant certain death: the bullet in this deadly game of Russian roulette.”

Here, the writer underlines the way in which the Jews were completely subjected to fate. There is no predicting what will happen to them, as in Russian roulette, where every pull of the trigger means potential death.

“So we were to be publically branded as outcasts. Several centuries of humanitarian progress were to be cancelled out, and we were back in the Middle Ages.”

At the center of Władysław’s character is his commitment to art and intellectualism. The German invasion threatens the Jews’ humanity and completely ignores their long intellectual history. Among other things, Władysław’s pride is insulted.

“Of course not all the money ended up in the hands of the poor surrogates themselves: the Council officials had to live, and they lived well, with vodka and a few little delicacies.”

These lines speak to the split between the wealthy and poor Jews, a prominent theme in the book. The wealthy can afford to bribe the council to choose surrogates to take their place in resettlement. A situation like this is one example of the injustices perpetuated within the Jewish community itself. 

“My experiences of the Warsaw ghetto from November 1940 to July 1942, a period of almost two years, merge into a single image as if they had lasted only a single day.”

Habit and ritual are significant parts of Władysław’s life, as well as the lives of many of the Jews in the ghetto. The form of the book mirrors content here, moving back and forth in time fluidly and describing habitual actions.

“The reality of the ghetto was all the worse because it had the appearance of freedom.”

The author investigates the insidious ways in which the ghetto breaks the spirits of the Jews. At first, no one realizes the true, murderous intentions of the Germans. However, reality slowly creeps in, and regulations wear away the Jews’ sense of humanity.

“Couples of cripples, old people, the very fat or the very thin had to whirl about in circles before the eyes of the horrified crowd.”

Here, the author describes the overt ways in which the Germans seek to humiliate and degrade the Jews. Though this is not an act of violence, forcing the Jews to dance in the street is a dehumanizing action, and speaks to the overall injustice the Germans perpetuate.

“You could have said, perhaps, that they caught the Gestapo spirit. As soon as they put on their uniforms and police caps and picked up their rubber truncheons, their natures changed.”

These lines speak to the theme of injustice perpetuated within the Jewish community. Wealthy Jews have the opportunity to join the Jewish police, and in so doing often seek to become like Germans. The author views them as traitorous.

“[The ants] turn back as if under some baleful influence instead of going straight ahead and out of range, always returning to the same pathways and the same place, unable to break out of the deadly circle—and so they perish.”

Here, the author compares Jews to ants in an anthill under attack, continuing the prevalent animal imagery in the memoir. Like ants, the Jews are helpless in the wake of a human foot (the Germans). They cannot seem to get out of their own way, always reverting back to the same patterns.

“They liked killing anyway: killing for sport, or to make their work easier, as target practice or simply for fun.”

The author depicts the Germans as ruthless and inhumane. It is these qualities that lead to injustice and the Germans’ ability to treat the Jews as animals. They take pleasure from this power dynamic.

“It was no use struggling any more. I had done what I could to save my loved ones and myself. It had obviously been impossible from the start.”

Władysław utters these words when his family is selected for resettlement. This is one of many moments of despair for Władysław; he feels he has done all he can and must accept fate.

“With every step I took along the pavement I became lonelier.”

In this moment, Władysław has just been separated from his family. They are on the train to Treblinka, while he remains in Warsaw. Up until this point, Władysław’s main driving force has been to protect his family; in this moment, he is torn away from them and feels as if he has failed. 

“Subconsciously, I had known from the first that the German fairytales of the camps for Jews where ‘good working conditions’ awaited them on resettlement were lies—that we could expect only death at the hands of the Germans.”

This is an instance of realization for Władysław. He no longer harbors any illusions about the German agenda and here fully realizes that his family is moving towards death and he will never see them again. This is a crushing moment for him.

“I handed them my compositions, my fountain pen and my watch, everything I wanted to take with me.”

Though Władysław has endured hardships, he nevertheless has found a way to preserve objects that are dear to him. His compositions, fountain pen, and watch symbolize his enduring connection to intellectualism, art, and music, values which he is unwilling to relinquish, even if he is made to let go of these objects.

“After years of pointless suffering I would be discovered one day and killed. The best I could hope for was to commit suicide rather than fall into German hands alive.”

Władysław expresses feelings of hopelessness, along with conviction, in these lines. On the one hand, he reflects over the uselessness of suffering if he is only fated to die. On the other hand, he refuses to die by the hands of the Germans; he retains integrity, as he commits to die on his own terms, if need be.

“No Jew was willing to be taken alive.”

Members of the resistance in the Warsaw ghetto are committed to their cause. This is a significant point in their timeline as it is the first moment in which they actively and violently resist their captors. They challenge the power dynamic by preferring to kill themselves, rather than let the Germans do so.

“I was still alive, even though the combination of malnutrition and grief had given me jaundice.”

As a result of physical and mental strain, Władysław becomes ill. These lines point to the ways in which suffering is not just physical but also mental. Władysław’s body, and the bodies of many Jews, respond to the acute emotional toil they undergo.

“I had escaped death yet again, but it still lay in wait for me.”

Throughout this memoir, Władysław can only control his own actions, not the actions of those around him. This line points to the ways in which his destiny is controlled by fate. During World War II, Jews’ agency was taken from them, and they were no longer in charge of their own lives. They are never truly safe as long as the Germans are persecuting them.

“I watched with hope, and with a growing belief in my heart that I would live, and be free.”

Władysławencounters bouts of hope and despair. Here, when he is staying in Helena Lewicka’s flat, the Germans appear to be leaving Warsaw and he experiences the strong belief that he will make it out alive.

“I had to laugh at the ingenuity of fate.”

Władysław experiences a moment of dark humor here. Though he has spent years avoiding death, he thinks he will die because his building is on fire. Again, these lines speak to the ways in which Władysław and the Jews do not control their own fates.

“It was like seeing the life-blood flow form the body of a murdered man, first vigorously and then more slowly.”

When the Warsaw Uprising has been defeated by the Axis, Władysław watches the remaining residents leave the city. This is a deeply visceral experience for him: the city is like a murdered body and the residents are its blood. His home has been murdered.