Wladyslaw Szpilman

Activity Overview

Władysław Szpilman was a pianist and Holocaust survivor. This learning activity asks students to consider the role music plays in a person's survival and resistance. 

Grade Level

7-12

ELA Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies:

RH1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

RH2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate, objective summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

RH8: Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. Identify and distinguish between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

WHST6: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source by applying discipline-specific criteria used in the social sciences

WHST7: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Social Studies Framework:

10.5 UNRESOLVED GLOBAL CONFLICT (1914–1945): World War I and World War II led to geopolitical changes, human and environmental devastation, and attempts to bring stability and peace.

10.5d Nationalism and ideology played a significant role in shaping the period between the world wars.

10.5e Human atrocities and mass murders occurred in this time period.

SEL Benchmarks

1A. Identify and understand their emotions and how emotions relate to their actions. Use understanding of emotions to inform actions.

2A. Recognize and build empathy for the feelings and perspectives of others.

2B. Recognize and affirm individual identities as well as individual and group similarities and differences, including those rooted in culture, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ability, etc.

3A: Consider individual and collective social, emotional, and physical safety and well-being, as well as social context in making decisions.

Objectives

Students will define and differentiate key Holocaust-related terms: upstander, righteous person, collaborator, perpetrator, victim, resistor, and survivor and discuss their relevance in the story of Szpilman. 

Students will analyze how music served as a form of personal expression, resistance, and a psychological tool for survival, allowing Szpilman and others to maintain hope and preserve their identity in the face of extreme adversity.

Students will reflect on the power of art, specifically music, to provide emotional resilience, connect individuals to their culture, and offer a sense of humanity and resistance against oppression.

Key Vocabulary

Collaborator - A person who cooperates with or assists a group, organization, or regime, often in a context where their support furthers harm or wrongdoing, such as aiding an oppressor.

Perpetrator - A person who commits a harmful, illegal, or immoral act, such as a crime, act of violence, or injustice.

Resistor - during the Holocaust refers to someone who opposed and defied the Nazi regime and its policies, including the genocide of six million Jews and millions of others.

Righteous Among Nations - honor bestowed by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. These individuals defied Nazi occupation and antisemitic policies to provide shelter, false identities, food, or other forms of aid to Jews, often at great personal risk to themselves and their families. 

Survivor - A person who lived through the persecution and atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II, which particularly targeted Jews but also included other groups such as Roma, disabled individuals, homosexuals, and others deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime. 

Upstander - Someone who takes action to stand up against injustice, defend others, or support a cause, rather than remaining passive or silent like a bystander.

Victim - A person who suffers harm, injury, or loss as a result of violence, discrimination, crime, accident, or other misfortunes.