Page "The Pianist (memoir)" Paragraph 40

From the window of the flat in which he was hiding, Szpilman had a good vantage point from which to watch the beginnings of the rebellion.

Hiding in a predominantly German area, however, Szpilman was not in a good position to go out and join the fighting: first he would need to get past several units of German soldiers who were holding the area against the main power of the rebellion, which was based in the city centre.

So Szpilman stayed in his building.

However, on August 12, 1944, the German search for the culprits behind the rebellion reached Szpilman ’ s building.

It was surrounded by Ukrainian fascists and the inhabitants were ordered to evacuate before the building was destroyed.

A tank fired a couple of shots into the building and then it was set alight.

Szpilman, hiding in his flat on the fourth floor, could only hope that the flats on the first floor were the only ones that were burning and that he would be able to escape the flames by staying high.

Within hours, however, his room began to fill with smoke and he began to experience the beginning effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Now, Szpilman was resigned to dying.

To quicken his passing, Szpilman decided to commit suicide.

To do this, he planned on swallowing first sleeping pills and then a bottle of opium to finish himself off.

But he didn ’ t manage to see his plans through to completion.

As soon as he took the sleeping pills, which acted almost instantly on his empty stomach, Szpilman fell asleep.