In 1939, (after the Nuremberg Law) Wladyslaw Szpilman's father read the newspaper that all jews are forced to wear an armband with an emblem on the right sleeve that represented the blue Star of David. The star has to be eight centimeter in diameter, the arms of the star must be a centimeter wide. The blue star must be on a white background. He was shocked. In 1942, Szpilman and his family move to the Warsaw Ghetto, following that month he and his family move to concentration camps via train. Luckily one of the jewish officers saved him before he went on the train, leaving his family. He finds an old friend named Dorota that will help him survive the war from Schutzstaffel and Gestapo. Over the time he had other people help him survive by giving him places to hide, and bring food when he was vulnerable. In 1943, Szpilman witnessed a fight on street that lasted a month between the rebeling jews and the Nazis. After the fight, his hiding place was found by an anti-semitistic woman living next door. .
Szpilman fled to another hiding place. The next hiding place was destroyed because of a tank. He then lived in the hospital that was across from him. The hospital was abandoned because more jews fought back. In the hospital, he was desperate and barely healthy. The hospital was later burnt down. He escaped with a wounded leg. He came by a house that had a hole in the wall. He went in and found a can of pickles. He later heard some noises and hid in the attic. The next day he went down and tried to open the can of pickles with a fireplace poker and an ash shovel. The can fell on the ground rolling it in front of a Nazi named Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. He asked personal questions to Szpilman; all true answers. One of the questions made him tell the Captain he was a pianist. The Nazi let him play the piano in a room in the house. Szpilman played No.1 In G Minor. The Nazi Captain wasn't really an anti-semitistic person and helped him hide in the attic by bring him food.