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Wladyslaw Szpilman ( December 5, 1911 – July 6, 2000) was a Polish pianist. He was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, to a family of Jewish origin. He died in Warsaw.

Grave of Wladyslaw Szpilman in Powazki Cemetery in Warsaw

Wladyslaw Szpilman worked as a pianist for the polish radio in Warsaw until the German invasion of Poland 1939 reached Warsaw. With Nazi Germany establishing ghettos in the city, he was forced to move there with his family, and continued to work as a pianist in a restaurant. Szpilman remained in the ghetto until it was abolished after the holocaust of most of its inhabitants — Szpilman was left as labourer. Succeeding in fleeing and finding places to hide in Warsaw, he stayed there for the remainder of the war.

After the war Szpilman resumed his musical career in Poland, becoming one of the most prolific composers of Polish popular songs.

In 1945, shortly after the war's end, he wrote a memoir about his survival in Warsaw. He published the book in Poland, titled Smierc Miasta ("Death of a City"). The published book was heavily censored by the Communist authorities who did not like its perspective on the war, and the number of copies printed was small.

Szpilman’s memoir was not reprinted for fifty years, until 1998 when it was published in english (and many other languages) as The PianistThe Pianist is a memoir written by the Polish musician of Jewish origins Wladyslaw Szpilman. He tells how he survived everyday life and the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto and the German deportations of Jews to extermination camps of World War II. A 2002. In 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom it was made into a movie with the same name by Roman PolanskiRoman Polanski (born August 18, 1933) is a Polish film director and actor. Early Life Roman Polanski was born in Paris as Raimund Liebling to Ryszard Polanski (aka Ryszard Liebling), a Jew, and Bula Polanski (nee Katz), a Roman Catholic. In 1937 his famil.

See also: Wilm HosenfeldWilm Hosenfeld ( May 2 1895 August 13 1952 near Stalingrad) a German officer who saved the Polish pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman from death in the ruins of Warsaw. He and several of his fellow officers, who had sypathy for the Jews and became ash