Author: Marta Józefczyk
Illustrator: Katarzyna Bukiert
Year: 2020
Publisher: BIS
Place of publication: Warszawa
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9788375516456
Marta Józefczyk’s story is based on a memoir by Antonina Żabińska, wife of Antoni Żabiński, the director of the Warsaw zoo in the years 1928-1951. The couple and their son Ryś must navigate the difficult times of the German occupation, which does not only affect the city as a whole, but also the zoo in particular. As a result of military action, some of its buildings have been destroyed, while some animals have been killed or have escaped. Moreover, pigs and foxes are now being farmed on the zoo’s grounds. Despite the apparent stagnation, the Żabinskis resiliently support both animals and people, helping the members of the resistance and the Jews from the Warsaw ghetto. They provide shelter in their villa, which is located on the zoo grounds.
Our Sanctuary contains many details from the life of Warsaw’s Jews as they were the largest group in need that the Żabinskis helped. After the war, the couple was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal. Through the book’s several Jewish characters, the reader can learn much about the conditions in the ghetto, and the ways that Jews were smuggled onto “the Aryan side” with new identities were created for them and safe shelters found outside the city.
Bibliography:
- Rybak, K., Obrazowanie Zagłady. Narracje holokaustowe w polskiej literaturze XXI wieku dla dzieci i młodzieży, Warszawa 2023.