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Wilim HozenfeldWehrmacht captain
Country:
 Germany |
Wilhelm Hozenfeld: A Lifesaver in the Midst of War
Wilhelm Hozenfeld, a captain in the German army, and Wladyslaw Szpilman, a talented Polish pianist, lived in completely different worlds. One became an officer of the Third Reich while the other was marked as a "subhuman" and faced certain death. Their paths crossed during the Warsaw Uprising, and their meeting saved both of their lives.
The story of Wladyslaw Szpilman's life became known to millions through Roman Polanski's film "The Pianist," which was based on Szpilman's memoirs. However, the film only briefly mentioned the role of Wilhelm Hozenfeld, stating that he died in a prisoner of war camp near Stalingrad in 1952. But who was Hozenfeld in reality? Was he a true anti-fascist or a Nazi who forced the desperate outcast to play the piano to save his own life?
After extensive research through archives, the internet, embassies, and military-historical clubs, I finally managed to find an email address. I wrote a short letter, not expecting to find a real person in the virtual world. However, to my surprise, I received a reply the next day from Detlef Hozenfeld, Wilhelm's son. He thanked me for my interest in his father and agreed to meet with me and provide documents regarding his father's fate. Detlef also provided me with the contact details of Andzey Szpilman, Wladyslaw's son, who lived in Zurich.
With a burning desire to uncover the untold story behind the Hollywood film, I embarked on a journey to meet these individuals. As I entered Detlef's cozy apartment in Kiel, I noticed a photograph on the desk - the same photograph that was shown in "The Pianist," featuring Wilhelm Hozenfeld and his family. Sitting across from me was a young woman and four children - the same family in the photograph.
Detlef, a medical doctor, began to share his father's story. He described their life in a small village near Fulda, where Wilhelm worked as a schoolteacher before the war. Detlef reminisced about his time as a student in his father's class, where he taught various subjects, including history, religion, and Nazi ideology. Looking back at his school notebooks, Detlef realized the extent to which Nazi ideology infiltrated their education. However, as a child, he couldn't fully comprehend it, and neither could anyone else.
Wilhelm Hozenfeld was a student during the time of Kaiser's Germany and developed a deep hatred for authoritarianism. Choosing a career as a teacher, he joined the "Wandervogel" youth movement in 1911, which aimed to reconnect with nature and revive national traditions. This movement later splintered into factions, with the "folk" faction aligning ideologically with the emerging fascist movement. Wilhelm chose this faction, believing in the power of unity and conformity to strengthen the nation.
In 1938, Wilhelm's wife, Annemarie, who came from a liberal, pacifist family, began to express her concerns about Hitler and the direction the country was heading. She despised Hitler's voice, speeches, and everything about him. However, Wilhelm welcomed Hitler's rise to power with enthusiasm, seeing it as a rebirth of the nation. He believed in the initial positive changes, such as reduced unemployment, infrastructure development, and a sense of national pride.
Wilhelm joined the SA (Stormtroopers) in 1933 and later became a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1935. His decision was not only driven by a desire to be part of the "vanguard" but also out of fear of losing his job as an unaffiliated teacher. He believed that being a party member was necessary to properly educate children in the "new spirit."
As the war began, Wilhelm, as a reservist, was called into service in 1939. Witnessing the eviction and mistreatment of people in Wartegau, Poland, he started to question the regime. He became critical of the SA and expressed his disgust at the violent actions of the party. He witnessed the horrors of Kristallnacht in 1938 and the subsequent persecution of Jews. Wilhelm's diary entries from that time reveal his growing doubts about the ideology he once embraced.
In September 1939, Wilhelm found himself in Poland. It was there, in Warsaw, that he encountered Wladyslaw Szpilman, who had been forced to abandon his studies at the Berlin Academy of Music due to his Jewish heritage. Szpilman had become a popular pianist and composer at the Warsaw Radio before the war. When the Nazis occupied Poland, his family, along with 400,000 other inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, perished in Treblinka.
Szpilman, a fugitive hiding in the ruins of Warsaw, had a chance encounter with Wilhelm. The German officer, instead of turning him in, helped him by providing food and hiding him in the attic of the fascist headquarters in Warsaw. They met for the last time in December 1944. Szpilman survived the war, but the guilt of not being able to save his family haunted him for the rest of his life.
Szpilman's memoir, "The Pianist," was published in 1946 but was banned in communist Poland a year later due to its Jewish theme. Despite the hardships he faced, Szpilman continued to play the piano, finding solace and strength in music. His life and music were inseparable.
Wilhelm Hozenfeld died in 1952, unable to overcome the guilt he felt for surviving while others perished. He had carried the burden of not being able to save Szpilman's family and even refused to drink water in the scorching heat of summer, mirroring the thirst he experienced in the concentration camp.
Through my interviews with Detlef Hozenfeld and Andzey Szpilman, I gained a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between Wilhelm and Wladyslaw. Their story is a testament to the power of humanity and compassion in the darkest times. Wilhelm Hozenfeld, a man who initially embraced the Nazi ideology, found the courage to defy it and save the life of a man he once considered a "subhuman."
