The Zookeeper's Wife By Diane Ackerman

In The Zookeeper's Wife, Ackerman shows how World War II did not have the greatest effect on a global level, but on a personal level.. They showed bravery in helping and hiding over three hundred of the hunted Jews from the Germans. Because of them, the German occupation of Poland was not as bad as it could have been. They saved many unforgettable lives. In the true story The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, Polish zookeepers, housed over three hundred Jews to keep them safe from the Nazis. The book begins with a description of their different lifestyle. The Zabinskis became the directors of the Warsaw Zoo and it was home to many unique animals. Jan wanted to study zoology so he did just that, Antonina became

They had an array of unique animals, some the only breed in the area or in the world. Antonina is deemed to have a sixth sense, or a maternal sense which helps her connect on a different level with the animals of the zoo. She feels a connection to each animal in the zoo. “Antonina loved to slip out of her human skin for a while and spy on the world through each animal’s eyes.” (Ackerman, 25) During the summer, she and Rys also developed a tradition of traveling to the countryside for a month or two. Every other weekend or so, Antonina travels back to check on the zoo and to hear what Jan has to say about the oncoming tension between Germany and the rest of

But the “director of slaughterhouses,” listened to what Jan had to say about why they needed straw, yet he did not give him the money that Jan and Antonina needed. Since food was scarce, pigs were very valuable, so the Zabinskis were very confused as to why he would say no to their needs. Over the course of the winter, many piglets were killed from the cold. The rest were killed from an illness that killed any remaining pigs from the herd. Thus, the pig farm was shut down, and Jan’s trips to the Ghetto were stopped because there was no need for him to get