THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE: A WAR STORY

author:
DIANE ACKERMAN

Non-fiction
368 pages
W. W. Norton & Company Inc.

This is the true story of Jan and Antonia Zabinski, zookeepers of the Warsaw’s Poland Zoo, and how they risked their lives to keep many Jews safe from the Nazi Holocaust. This epic tale is unusual because the couple were practicing Catholic and generally safe from Nazi persecution. They took many risks to provide shelter as all compassionate patriots do.

Jan and Antonia managed the zoo and were well known as having one of the greatest zoos in Europe. The zoo was bombed during the invasion and caused massive destruction—some of the animals were later shipped to Germany to safeguard them from further harm. Then, to make matters even worse, the Nazis came back to the zoo and they killed many of the animals for sport, cruelly shooting them in their cages.

Jan and Antonina enlarged tunnels built under the zoo’s many cages, erected false panels in the main house to create hidden rooms, and even made many of zoo cages habitable. During this period almost one hundred Jewish escapees, at any given time, were living in these secret places.

Antonina realized that if you hid people in plain view and acted as though nothing was amiss, the Nazis would not discover them. Even a housekeeper who cared for the home did not suspect anything, because the people, who were hiding, only came out at night. They all stayed in the tunnels or behind false panels during the day with a strict code of silence. Heightening the intrigue, the Nazis had an ammunition building on the property.

As a leading member in the Polish underground, Jan considered it necessary to gain entry to the Warsaw Ghetto, which saved the lives of many Jews. There were times when Jan was able to use his skills as an animal handler to further help people in the Ghetto. He had convinced the Germans to allow him to raise pigs at the zoo in order to feed German soldiers, only to use the pigs to feed his “guests.”

Diane Ackerman’s research into this book enhances this remarkable story. This is a great read and would make a spellbinding movie. As a matter of fact, I am sure it will.

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