THE ZOOKEEPERS' WIFE: A War Story—Diane Ackerman—Magnificent true story, mixed with beautiful writing (sometimes distracting) tells of Anatonia Zabinski, wife of Zookeeper Jan Zabinski, and how the couple endured World War II in Poland. Together with their 5 or 6 year old son, they housed up to 300 Jews escaping the Nazis at the Zoo. Ackerman's command of the language paints beautiful word pictures of the Zoo prior to the war and the same command of the language, some of the horrors of the War for the Polish. Jan, a very active member of the Underground found ways to turn the Zoo, after it's destruction, into other uses (a series of garden plots, a fox farm, among other things) to cover the comings and goings of all sorts of strangers. Relying Anatonia's journals, there are wonderful stories of the many various animals living at the Zoo or in the house; at one point, hyena pups, hamsters, piglet, baby badger, arctic hare, muscrat, cockatoo, lynxes...all at once.
A wonderful book of personal sacrifice by a non-Jewish couple at a desperate time who “did what they had to do”.