The Zoo Keepers Wife

"The Zoo Keepers Wife" is an amazing film and the fact that it is a true story makes it even more remarkable.

It is one of those stories that restores your faith in mankind. A story of absolute courage in the face of immediate death to save the lives of complete strangers. Yes, another World War Two reality which has just come to light. Many, many people of all nationalities did whatever they could to save as many lives as possible --- Jewish lives ! Having the knowledge we have today, we can only admire these very real stories and the people who put their lives in danger to save "Jews". What we have learnt from this, is the fact that no matter what "names" a group of people are given, we are all human living on this one planet Earth --- and we all have a right to live here.
Jan and Antonina Zabinski were recognized by The State Of Israel as The Polish Righteous Among The Nations for their heroic rescue of Jews during the Holocaust in occupied Poland.

 Jan was a zoologist and zootechnician by profession, and organizer and director of the renowned Warsaw Zoo before and during World War Two. He became director of the Zoo before the outbreak of war but during the occupation of Poland also held a prestigious function of the Superintendent of the city's public parks in 1939-1945. A street in Warsaw is named after him.
Jan and his wife Antonina and their son Ryszard used their personal villa and the zoo itself to shelter hundreds of displaced Jews. Additionally, he fought during the Warsaw Uprising, was subsequently injured and became a prisoner of war. After his liberation, Zabinski became a member of the State Commission for the Preservation of Nature. Jan Zabinski authored approximately 60 popular science books. His wife Antonina authored several children's books written from the perspective of the animals.

 
During the German air assault on Warsaw in September 1939, many animal enclosures had been emptied and the zoo specimens taken elsewhere. The Zabinski's decided to utilize the clean pens, cages, and stalls as the hiding places for fleeing Jews. Over the course of three years, hundreds of Jews found temporary shelter in these abandoned cages until finding refuge elsewhere. In addition, close to a dozen Jews were sheltered in Zabinski's two-story private home on the zoos grounds. At first, Zabinski paid from his own funds to subsidize the maintenance costs, then money was received through Zegota: Council To Aid Jews. ( All information is from Wikipedia)

We can only guess at the very strong and real emotions that were involved. The absolute "wanting" to save innocent lives with the absolute "fear" of being caught and immediately killed. Yet, these people showed real "Courage" and just went with it, saving hundreds of lives and being recognized for their love in others. Yes, this restores our faith in mankind !

                                                             The Zoo is still open today.