The Pianist

The sleeping pills do not kill Władysław, and he wakes up the following morning with “joy to find myself alive” (160). He leaves his flat and finds that the building is still smoky and partially on fire. Exiting the building, he stumbles across the burnt corpse of a resident and sees many more corpses in the streets. The fighting and shooting in the streets continue, and Władysław seeks shelter in an unfinished hospital building on August 13, 1944. He hopes to find supplies there but discovers only insect-filled water and moldy bread, which make up his only sustenance for the next two weeks.

On August 30, Władysławchanges his hiding place and returns to the ruined building, which has since stopped burning. At first, he hides on the third floor then moves into the attic. Here, Władysław subsists on dirty water that has collected in bathtubs and rusks, a type of biscuit. Ukrainian soldiers raid the building several times, but Władysław escapes detection.

Throughout this time, fighting continues in the city, along with air raids and shelling. On October 5, the Polish rebels are defeated, and the German soldiers escort the last of the fighters out of the city. The last of the civilians exit on October 14.