The Pianist

This diary is written by Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, the German soldier who aids Władysław at the end of the war. The entries take place from January 1942 through August 1944. Hosenfeld begins by comparing the German campaign to the “dreadful deeds and appalling barbarities” of the French Revolution and to the “terrible atrocities” of the Bolsheviks” (193). He details specific accounts of German violence in concentration camps as well as abroad. Hosenfeld goes on to condemn the German agenda, saying that Hitler and any German who wishes to exterminate Jews are, “sick, abnormal, or mad” (198).

For Hosenfeld, “The greatest ideal on earth is human love,” and he believes that justice will prevail (196). He connects strongly to his Catholic faith, and his condemnation of the German campaign grows stronger and stronger as time goes on. In his estimation, there is no way that the Germans will win the war, since “the love of freedom is native to every human being and every nation, and cannot be suppressed in the long term” (197).

The Epilogue is composed by Wolf Biermann, a famous Jewish-German poet, song-writer, and essayist. He provides some more background on Wilm Hosenfeld and reflections on Szpilman after the war.