Úkryt v zoo

The true story of the director of the Warsaw Zoo, Jan Żabiński, and his wife Antonina, who, after the bombing of the zoo during the German invasion of Poland in 1939, took advantage of the Nazis' concern for animals to save over three hundred Jews.

The author emphasizes the couple's heroism because at the time a Warsaw resident was sentenced to death for even handing a thirsty Jew a glass of water. The story is meticulously researched, systematically documented. The author also interviewed the Żabińskis' surviving son Ryszard, people from the Warsaw Zoo, and women who were contemporaries of the Żabińskis and participated in the actions of the Polish underground resistance movement.

The experience of a gifted novelist and poet turns a historical account of events into a work of art. The book won the Orion Award in 2008, and the story was even made into a film, appearing in our cinemas in March 2017 under the title Hiding in the Zoo. Antonina Żabińska is played in it by the popular American actress Jessica Chastain.

Czech edition