The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

Summary:

When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants—otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes. With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her.

Staff Review:

With the Nazi invasion of Warsaw, Poland the idyllic life of zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski is turned into a nightmare. The Zabinskis become part of an underground effort that helps over 300 people escape the Jewish ghettoes of Warsaw and certain death. The contrast between the evil in the hearts of the Nazis and the good of those who risked everything to help their fellow man will astound you. This book is a testimony to the human spirit and the will to survive. It made me much more appreciative of small everyday things.

-- by Ann N.