1

Kevin Napier

Hell on Earth

Numerous events that occurred in the twentieth century can be described as “Hell on Earth”, but no events were worse than the horrific acts of the Germans to the Jews and the communists to the Russians during World War II. Ivan Denisovich, the main character in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and Wladislaw Szpilman, the main character in The Pianist, show many similarities and differences throughout the time that they are held captive. These comparisons and contrasts involve the characters’: personalities, environments, work, friendships, backgrounds, and hopes. Ivan Denisovich and Wladislaw Szpilman share many qualities and experiences. Some of these include: making friendships to survive, having high levels of intelligence, and lying to the individuals that are holding them captive. Denisovich and Szpilman also differ in many aspects of life. These include: having or not having access to the outside world, speaking about a good day or bad days, and seeing or not seeing family. Many individuals have a perception that everything that occurred in camps or the ghetto during World War II are almost exactly the same, but in reality every camp or ghetto that held captives differ in as many ways as they are similar.

In order to fully understand the movie, The Pianist, it is important to have a grasp on what the Warsaw ghetto was like during World War II. The Germans established the Warsaw ghetto on October 12, 1940. A ten foot wall with barbed wire was constructed in order to enclose the Warsaw ghetto. The point of the ghetto was for the German authorities to keep the Jews in a certain area. Jews were packed so tightly into the ghetto that it averaged 7.2 people per room (“Warsaw”). Another problem that the Jews faced in the Warsaw ghetto was their shortage of food that they received. Their rations were estimated to be less than three hundred calories per day (Einwohner). The conditions were very harsh and countless Jews died in the ghetto due to disease, starvation, and punishment.

A major comparison that can be drawn from One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Pianist is that the main characters in each make friendships to survive, not to enjoy life. Ivan Denisovich, the main character in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, develops friendships with Kilgas, Eino, and Pavlo. Kilgas and Ivan Denisovich begin to grow a strong friendship for one another when they go to find the roofing-felt. They had worked with each other before and look up to one another because they are both skilled workers. Although, these two were not looking to be friends, but instead they were joining forces to complete their task for the day (43). Another individual that Denisovich becomes friends with is Eino. These two bonded over smoking cigarettes. When it came time for one of them wanting to smoke, “They always shared and shared alike and wouldn’t use a single shred of tobacco without the other knowing” (70). It appears that Denisovich used Eino for tobacco and had no intention of being best friends with him. Ivan Denisovich and Pavlo also developed a peculiar friendship. The two of them have a profound respect for each other due to the hard work ethic of Denisovich. Ivan Denisovich works a lot harder for his foreman, Pavlo, than he would for a distant boss. Since Denisovich works so hard, Pavlo ends up looking like an impressive boss. This friendship is solely for the protection and reputation of the lives of Denisovich and Pavlo (48). In The Pianist, Wladislaw Szpilman also makes friendships to survive, not to enjoy life. He develops friendships with Jerzy Lewinski andWilm Hosenfeld. Szpilman and Lewinski begin to interact with each other when Lewinski comes into Szpilman’s house to ask if he wanted to be a Jewish police officer. Szpilman declined the offer but met up again with Lewinski when he was in a line to be sent to a transport site. Neither Szpilman nor Lewinski were looking for a true friendship but Szpilman became friends with Lewinski in order to have a life line on the side of the Germans. Another person that Szpilman becomes friends with is Wilm Hosenfeld. They first encountered each other when Szpilman was scrounging through a house for food. Szpilman initially thought that he was going to be punished by the German officer, but was surprised to find out that the officer was willing to help him. Wilm Hosenfeld took food to Szpilman and even gave him his coat. It is obvious that Szpilman and Hosenfeld were not looking for a true friendship, but instead Hosenfeld was just helping Szpilman in an unfortunate situation.

A contrast between the main characters in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Pianist is that Ivan Denisovich has no access to the outside world and Wladislaw Szpilman has access to the outside world. In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Denisovich is completely trapped in the HQ with a ten year sentence. He has contact to the outside world with his family, but he does not have access to purchasing supplies at markets or the sense of any freedom (32). On the contrary, in The Pianist, Szpilman has access to the outside world. The Jews in the Warsaw ghetto are occasionally allowed to spend a small amount of time purchasing a limited amount of goods from the market. These short periods of freedom allow for the Jews to plot against the Germans. The rules were so strict in the HQ in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich that it was near impossible for the Russians to plot against the communists in charge.

An additional comparison between the main characters in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Pianist is that Ivan Denisovich and Wladislaw Szpilman both have very high levels of intelligence. In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Denisovich uses wire that he found to make a spoon and then hides the spoon in his boot (12). This is extremely intelligent because Denisovich has to craft an object out of material that he was not even allowed to have. Similarly, in The Pianist, Wladislaw Szpilman uses a bag of “potatoes” to sneak guns into the ghetto. This proves that Szpilman is an intellectual because he has to construct a plan to sneak the guns into the ghetto while not getting caught by the German officers.

One of the main contrasts between the main characters in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Pianist is how they explain their experiences in camps. In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Denisovich speaks of one day that he claims was almost happy. On the contrary, in The Pianist, Wladislaw Szpilman speaks of many days where the majority of days seem to be terrible. Denisovich most likely explains his day as almost happy because he did not get put on the punishment block or sent to the can (5-6). It was also a great day because he did not get caught with the piece of metal in his mitten (93). In The Pianist, Szpilman tends to speak about all of the bad events that occur. Some of these instances include: being moved to the ghetto, being shot because he was wearing a German coat, having his workplace getting bombed, being kept out of a restaurant because he is a Jew, being sick throughout his hiding, and being separated from his family.

A distinct similarity between the main characters in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Pianist is their ability to lie to the individuals that are holding them captive. In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Denisovich lies to a worker in the mess hall. He tricks the worker into giving him extra rations. Even though this is technically stealing from other gang members in the camp it is understandable that Denisovich uses trickery to get more rations for members of his gang (62). There is also an event that occurs in The Pianist where Szpilman lies to the Germans. After Szpilman learns of his small amount of freedom where he can go into the market outside of the ghetto he begins to plot against the Germans. Him and a few of his peers band together and sneak guns into the ghetto. In particular, Szpilman sneaks guns in by using a bag of rice. Unfortunately, he gets caught by a German officer, but he gets away with sneaking the guns in because he lies and says the bag is just full of potatoes.

Another contrast between One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Pianist is that Ivan Denisovich was not able to see his family while imprisoned and Szpilman was able to see his family from time to time. In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Denisovich is completely isolated from being able to see his family. This is most likely extremely heartbreaking for him because he is unable to show love to his family and watch them grow (32). On the other hand, in The Pianist, Szpilman is able to spend time with his family. Szpilman is able to see his family at the beginning of the movie, occasionally throughout his time in the ghetto, and then after he gets to go back home. Even though Szpilman is not able to spend a large amount of time with his family, he retains hope for his life due to the fact that he still has family that he is able to interact with.

There are many different stories that have come from Jews who experienced torment from the Germans during World War II and Russians who experienced torment from communists during the war. These stories range from bearable to terrible. An example of a bearable story is Solzhenitsyn’s book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. On the contrary, an example of a terrible story is the movie, The Pianist. The endings of these two works help indicate whether or not they were bearable or terrible. In the book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the main character, Shukhov, ends by saying, “Nothing had spoiled the day and it had almost been happy” (144). Solzhenitsyn was often criticized for writing about a more pleasant day in the concentration camps because it was such a rare occurrence. In the movie, The Pianist, there was a great deal of violence that the Germans did to the Jews. There were a few instances of happiness, but even when Wladislaw Szpilman was saved he was unable to locate the German officer, Wilm Hosenfeld, who prevented him from dying. Szpilman not being able to locate Hosenfeld left him with an empty feeling even though he was free. Countless Jews and Russians experienced atrocious acts during World War II, but each of these acts differed in longevity and severity that can be described as “Hell on Earth”.

Works Cited

The Pianist. Dir. Roman Polanski. Prod. Roman Polanski. By Ronald Harwood. Perf. Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann. Focus Features, 2002. DVD.

RachelÂL.ÂEinwohner. "Opportunity, Honor, and Action in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943." JSTOR. Purdue University, 2003. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. N.p.: Bantam, 2005. Print.

"Warsaw." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 20 June 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.