Wilm Hosenfeld Wilhelm Adalbert Hosenfeld ( ; 2 May 1895 – 13 August 1952 ) , originally a teacher , was a German Army officer who rose to the rank of Hauptmann by the end of the war . He helped to hide or rescue several Poles , including Jews , in Nazi - occupied Poland and helped Polish - Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman to survive , hidden , in the ruins of Warsaw during the last months of 1944 . In June 2009 , he was posthumously recognized as a Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem . Life . He was born into the family of a pious Catholic teacher near Fulda . His family life had a Catholic character , and Christian social justice work was emphasized during his education . He was influenced by the Catholic Action and Church - inspired social work , but also by Prussia n obedience , by German patriotism , and , during his marriage , by the increasing pacifism of his wife , Annemarie . He was also influenced by the Wandervogel movement and its adherents . He served in World War I from 1914 and , severely wounded in 1917 , received the Iron Cross 2nd class . World War II . Hosenfeld was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1939 and stationed in Poland from mid - September 1939 until his capture by the Soviet Army on 17 January 1945 . His first destination was Pabianice , where he was involved in the building and running of a POW camp . Next , he was stationed in Wegrów in December 1939 , where he remained until his battalion was moved another 30 km away to Jadów at the end of May 1940 . He was finally transferred to Warsaw in July 1940 , where he spent the rest of the war , for the most part attached to Wach - Bataillon ( guard battalion ) 660 , part of the Wach - Regiment Warschau , where he served as a staff officer as well as the battalion sports officer . Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1935 , Hosenfeld grew disillusioned with the party and Nazi policies as time passed , especially as he saw how Poles , and later Jews , were treated . He and several fellow German Army officers felt sympathy for all peoples of occupied Poland . Ashamed of what some of their countrymen were doing , they offered help to those they could whenever possible . Hosenfeld befriended numerous Poles and even made an effort to learn their language . He also attended Holy Mass ( Latin rite ) , received Holy Communion , and went to confession in Polish churches , even though this was forbidden by official Nazi decree . His actions on behalf of Poles began as early as autumn 1939 , when he allowed , against regulations , Polish POWs access to their families and even pushed ( successfully ) for the early release of at least one . During his time in Warsaw , he used his position to give refuge to people , regardless of their background ( he gave refuge to at least one politically persecuted anti - Nazi ethnic German as well ) , who were in danger of persecution — even arrest by the Gestapo , sometimes by getting them the requisite papers and jobs at the sports stadium that was under his oversight . Hosenfeld was captured by the Soviets at Błonie , a small Polish city about 30 km west of Warsaw , with the men of a Wehrmacht company he was leading . He was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor for alleged war crimes , simply on account of his unit affiliation , and was tortured by the Soviet secret services , as they believed Hosenfeld had been active in the German Abwehr or even the Sicherheitsdienst . Despite the Polish and Jewish citizens who filed petitions on his behalf , the Soviets refused to believe that he had not been involved in war crimes . He died in Soviet captivity on 13 August 1952 , shortly before 10 : 00 in the evening , from rupture of the thoracic aorta , possibly sustained during torture . Legacy . 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 . Along with him , the Szpilman family and thousands of others asked that Hosenfeld be honoured in this way for his acts of kindness throughout the war . 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 Kaczynski with a Commander ’ s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta ( ) . On 16 February 2009 , Yad Vashem finally announced that Capt . Wilm Hosenfeld would be posthumously recognized as a 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 .