FINAL OF THE STORY

Szpilman wanted to thank Hosenfeld, but he had nothing to give that the officer would take. Instead, he gave him a name:

I never told you my name - you didn’t ask me, but I want you to remember it. Who knows what may happen? You have a long way to go home. If I survive, I’ll certainly be working for Polish Radio again. I was there before the war. If anything happens to you, if I can help you then in any way, remember my name: Szpilman, Polish Radio. (The Pianist, Page 181.)  

 Suffering several cerebral strokes, Wilm died in 1952 in the Stalingrad prisoner of war camp. He was 57 years old, a man broken by the horror he had seen. The fact that his sentence had been commuted to life in prison no longer mattered.