A physician by profession, she was active almost until the end of her life.
Born in 1928 in the town of Radom, south of Warsaw, she was the daughter of the town’s prewar mayor, Józef Grzecznarowski, a prominent member of the Polish Socialist Party.
In 1948 she took up medical studies in Kraków. Two years later she married Władysław Szpilman, a Polish pianist and composer of Jewish descent. The story of how he survived in German-occupied Warsaw during World War II was made into the Oscar-winning film The Pianist. He died in 2000.
In addition to her work as a physician, Halina Szpilman worked closely with the Office of the Polish Ombudsman as an expert of its commission for disabled people.
She was also a board member of the Sue Ryder Foundation, which provides support and personal help to those in need because of poor health and living conditions.
In its obituary, the Sue Ryder Foundation described Halina Szpilman as “a friendly, open and warm person, always caring for other people.”
Halina Szpilman is survived by two sons, Andrzej and Krzysztof.
(mk/pk)