A book by an American author offers insights into a less known chapter of World War II history – the sheltering of Jews in the Warsaw ZOO.

When World War II broke out, the best part of the Warsaw ZOO was destroyed. Many animals were killed and others taken to Germany. But for Jan Zabinski, the director of the ZOO, and his wife Antonina, it was the beginning of a meticulously-planned operation to save Jews. The Nazis allowed them to turn the ZOO into a pig farm for sustaining the German troops. Thanks to this Zabinski received a permit to enter the Jewish Ghetto to pick up unused scraps to feed the animals. 

Diane Ackerman’s ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’ is a fascinating account of how, under  the noses of the Germans, Jews were sheltered in the Warsaw ZOO. It has just been brought out in a Polish translation.

Click on the audio icon above to listen to the report which includes an interview with Olga Zienkiewicz, the translator of the book.