Notes

a war story
Diane Ackerman
368 p., [8] p. of plates
ill., ports
Summary: During World War Two the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, bombers devastated Warsaw, including the zoo. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside their house, emerging after dark for dinner, socialising, and, even 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 household afloat, caring for both its human and animal inhabitants - otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes - even as Europe crumbled around them