More than 70 years after WWII, Thalau – a small village in Germany – comes to terms with the complex legacy of native son Wilm Hosenfeld, the Nazi officer widely known for saving Wladyslaw Szpilman – ”The Pianist”, who is now revealed to have been a serial rescuer.
Hosenfeld’s personal diaries record his chilling, gradual disillusionment with the Nazi war machine he belonged to and that Szpilman, incredibly, is just one of sixty people he saved. Thalau’s group of supporters are inspired to have Hosenfeld memorialized at the local school he led before enlisting in Hitler’s army, but the villagers struggle to come to terms with the complicated legacy of a man they want to forget; a Nazi officer and a serial rescuer.
