How To Survive In The Pianist

The article ‘Teens against Hitler ', by Lauren Tarshis, Describes the hardships and courageous acts of Ben Kamm, a Jewish ‘Partisan’ or fighter against Adolf Hitler during the Holocaust, and all Jews who faced the challenges during that tragic time. The Jewish only wanted a normal life, but German leader, Adolf Hitler, wanted to make sure all Jew would perish. So, they began piling Jews into concentration camps to kill them, Hitler would work them to death, starve them, and even murder them in gas chambers. Then, The ‘Partisans’ began to fight against Hitler and his army. This act of courage, despite the challenges and risks they faced, help many Jews survive the most horrific event in history, The Holocaust.

The memoir,”Night”, shows the perspective of Elie Wiesel, a young boy that was sent to a concentration camp alongside hundreds of other Jews, that lost their valuables , faith and family.The terror within the concentration camp slowly deteriorate the Jews ,physically and mentally.The jews had a choice to be selfish or selfless,given the jews’ situation it is best to do what was in their best interest. Throughout Elie Wiesel’s memoir, “Night”; many individuals had a hard time navigating the brutality within the concentration camps.Through these times of brutality, many people in the camp had to choose to either be selfish or altruistic. Given the jew’s situation, it is better to act selfish than to be altruistic.

Vladek is depicted as a hero who shows countless acts of selflessness and generosity and a villain who is, “opinionated, tight-fisted, and self-involved”. (Brown 6) Art Spiegelman’s book Maus, tells the story of how Vladek and Anja Spiegelman survived the Holocaust. Spiegelman illustrates Vladek as a man who single-handily saved his family from starvation and Auschwitz in World War I. During Spiegelman’s interviews, we get an idea of Vladek’s darker side since the war ended. Mala to speak of her astonishment and disgust in Vladek’s character. Which leaves us to question how truthfully these stories are being told. In the end, Vladek’s unsuccessful heroism is a constant reminder of his failure; survival with Anja was always easier, after her death, Vladek pushes everyone away with his “guilt and manipulation” (Brown 7)

Furthermore, Appelfeld also isolated himself to hide his true identity, however he was also isolated during the beginning of his new life as the result of a language barrier with his own people, which further resulted in suppressing the anger he felt towards his parents for straying away from the Jewish culture. The abandonment of Tzili’s family, mistreatment of other people she encountered, and the stillbirth of her baby are just a few points of sadness expressed within the story. These situations of sadness help express what it might have been like to live through such a horrific event as the Holocaust. This is done by paralleling these stories and using a fictitious work, Tzili, to accentuate key points in Appelfeld’s own true story of survival.

The Holocaust, yet another unpleasant time in history tainted with the blood and suffering of man. Human beings tortured, executed and starved for hatred and radical ideas. Yet with many tragedies there are survivors, those who refused to die on another man’s command. These victims showed enormous willpower, they overcame human degradation and tragedies that not only pushed their beliefs in god, but their trust in fellow people. It was people like Elie Wiesel author of “Night”, Eva Galler,Sima Gleichgevicht-Wasser, and Solomon Radasky that survived, whose’ mental and physical capabilities were pushed to limits that are difficult to conceive. Each individual experiences were different, but their survival tales not so far-reaching to where the fundamental themes of fear, family, religion and self-preservation played a part in surviving. Although some of these themes weren’t always so useful for survival.

Wladyslaw Szpilman was a pianist for a radio station during the beginning of the Second World War in the Fall of 1939. Living in Warsaw at the time, it only took a few weeks until the German forces took full control over the city. Szpilman and his family decide to stay in Warsaw after hearing that the Allied forces (Great Britain) were joining the war against Germany. From that point on the conditions for Jews exponentially deteriorate, suffering caused by both the German forces and the Polish people. Under the Nazi regime, the Jewish people are exposed to many injustices. Polish businesses that once welcomed all, now strictly disallowed the Jewish people. As well as instances of German forces bullying the jewish community, Szpilman’s father was struck in the face by and German officer and told that he was forbidden to walk on the sidewalk. The Nazi control over Warsaw was the start to the horrors of the holocaust, caused by both the assault of the German forces and the acts of the Polish people under the Nazi

“Why had I worked so hard to survive if it was always going to end like this? If had known, I wouldn’t have bothered. I would have let them kill me back in the ghetto. It would have been easier that way. All that I had done was for nothing.” Based on a shocking true story, this excerpt shows one of Jakob Gruener’s largest conflicts throughout “Prisoner B-3087” by Alan Gratz. Jakob, a young jewish man from Poland, perseveres many concentration camps and death marches, and seems to vary between the determination to live, or give in to the Nazi brutality and die. The story takes place during World War II, when the jewish people were taken by the Nazi Rich (Rike/Bike) in concentration camps, Jakob being one of the millions of jews taken. Jakob

“The Pianist” by Wladyslaw Spilman is a extraordianry story about a man’s survival in the holocaust in Warsaw, Poland. The book explains how Szpilman survives the holocaust in Poland by hiding, escaping, and with luck. Szpilman is important to society because he explains the following topics in his perspective for them not to happen again, religious discrimination, human rights, and punishment in crimes involving genocide. Many of the issues raised by the holocaust continue to have an impact on the world today.

Its 1944 and young Elie Wiesel is taken from his home in Sighet, Transylvania. After a 12 hour boxcar ride, Elie and the other jew from the town arrive in Oswiecim, Poland. All these innocent people will soon be loaded into the death camp “Auschwitz- Birkenau.” Throughout the Holocaust young Elie has changed from waiting for god to intervene in these horrible times to denying any and all hope from God. Elie says “It was nothing more than chance” (viii) that he survived.

Tadeusez Borowski describes in his many short stories that some victims during the Holocaust had to choose between their one lives or loved ones. In “The People Who Walked On” there’s a situation between a young woman and a camp leader. The young woman and her mother were forced to undress and the camp leader was “struck by the perfect beauty of her body” and asked her to step aside. The man deceives her and tells her to trust him and follow him into the chambers. The woman still worried but hopeful asks “what will they do to us?” The man, in an effort to keep her calm responds “Remember, be brave, come. I shall

In 1983 Aharon Appelfeld published a work of fiction titled Tzili that closely resembled his own personal Holocaust experiences. This work of fiction revolves around a maturing teen who is alone and on the run during the Holocaust. In Tzili, Appelfeld brings to life his characters, which include Tzili, Katrina, Mark, and Linda. Throughout this literary analysis Appelfelds’ memoir Story of a Life will be used to access the parallels that exist between Appelfeld’s own personal experience and his fictional work Tzili.

The Pianist is a movie that shows the life of one man, Wladyslaw Szpilman who was a popular Jewish Pole radio station pianist. In the World War II which is a background of the movie, How Szpilman suffered and how he survived are presented in the movie. While the movie portrays Szpilman’s life, it also shows how the Jewish people are dehumanized by Nazi during the war. The director, Roman Polanski, successfully uses camera angle, lighting and plot structure, and characterization to present the theme of dehumanization.

“Dictionary.com” defines survival as an aspect of “remaining alive, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances” . This quote specifies that when one’s under significant circumstances, survival will become a priority. This is a theme that is very important in both novels studied this year, “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, and “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. This means that staying alive will become a task. People can depend on survival and become desperate to do anything for life.

You are an eight-year-old boy forced to move with your family from your home in Berlin to the countryside because your father received a promotion as the head Nazi officer at a work camp. Without any friends, you sneak away during the day to explore the land behind your house and find what you understand to be a “farm.” It turns out to be a work camp where you meet another boy your age. You quickly become friends with the boy named Shmuel, who is forced to live in the work camp because he is Jewish. You do not understand the hatred towards the Jews during this time, and because of this, an unlikely friendship forms. Shmuel’s father disappears and you offer to come into the camp to help look for him. When searching in the barracks, things

Between 1933 and 1945, 11 million people were murdered in the Holocaust, of this six million were Jews and of this, 1.1 million were children. Of the nine million Jews who lived in Europe before the Holocaust, an estimated 2/3 were murdered. Despite all these odds and statistics, Vladek Spiegelman managed to survive, and then share his story with his son, so he could share their story with the world. Another reason that Vladek Spiegelman is a good subject to write a biography on is, his personality. He seems to have to sides to him, Vladek Spiegelman before war and Vladek Spiegelman post - war. We get to see the impact and affect the Holocaust had on it’s victims, with our own eyes. Moreover, Vladek Spiegelman is an inspiration and a reminder of the potential dark side to human nature. Thus, writing a biography on Mr. Spiegelman is informative, moving and above all, inspirational.