Wolf Biermann, Szpilman described Berman as "all powerful by the grace of Stalin," and lamented, "So I approached the worst rogue of the lot, and it did no good." Hosenfeld died in a Soviet prison camp on 13 August 1952, shortly before 22:00, from a rupture of the thoracic aorta, possibly sustained during torture. Commemoration In 2002, The Pianist, a film based on Szpilman's memoirs of the same name, portrayed Hosenfeld's rescue of Władysław Szpilman. Hosenfeld was played by Thomas Kretschmann. In October 2007, Hosenfeld was posthumously honoured by the president of Poland Lech Kaczyński with a Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (). Szpilman's son, Andrzej Szpilman, had long called for Yad Vashem to recognize Wilm Hosenfeld as a Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue Jews. On 25 November 2008, Yad Vashem posthumously recognized Hosenfeld as Righteous Among the Nations. On 19 June 2009, Israeli diplomats presented Hosenfeld's son, Detlev, with the award, in Berlin. On December 4, 2011, a commemorative plaque in Polish and English was unveiled at 223 Niepodległości Avenue in Warsaw, the place where Hosenfeld discovered Szpilman, in the presence of Hosenfeld's daughter Jorinde. Awards and decorations Iron Cross of 1914, 2nd class (1917) Honor Cross of World War 1914/1918 Wound Badge in Black (1918) SA-Sports Badge in Bronze Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland, October 2007) Righteous Among the Nations (25 November 2008) See also Oskar Schindler Angel Sanz Briz Karl Plagge Albert Göring John Rabe Raoul Wallenberg Aristides de Sousa Mendes References and notes Sources Vogel, Thomas, ed.: Wilm Hosenfeld: "Ich versuche jeden zu retten"—Das Leben eines deutschen Offiziers in Briefen und Tagebüchern (Wilm Hosenfeld: "'I try to save each one [I can]'—The life of a German officer in letters and diaries"). Compiled and with commentary by Thomas Vogel, Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamt (MGFA: Military History Research Institute). Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich, 2004. Szpilman, Władysław. The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–1945. Picador; 2nd edition, 2002 (ISBN ), (ISBN ). This book includes a foreword by Andrzej Szpilman, excerpts from Hosenfeld's diary, and an epilogue in the form of an essay by Wolf Biermann. External links Wilm Hosenfeld, A Man Of courage – The story of Wilm Hosenfeld Comment on Hosenfeld in conjunction with Roman Polanski's filmThe Pianist Page on Wilm Hosenfeld and The Pianist on the website of Hosenfeld's grandson