Initially an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler, Wilm Hosenfeld became aware of the Third Reich's relentless brutality against the Poles

and Jews when he was stationed in Poland. Witnessing the Nazis' inhumanity changed Hosenfeld from an enemy occupier to a rescuer. Hosenfeld's heroic efforts to save Polish citizens was mostly unknown until a scene in the Oscar-winning film, The Pianist, brought Hosenfeld to the public's attention. In Defying the Nazis, the full story of Hosenfled's courageous transformation and his attempts to help those he was ordered to kill can finally be read and appreciated.