The Unbelievable Story Of The Zookeepers Who Defied The Nazis
The Unbelievable Story Of The Zookeepers Who Defied The Nazis
Even when it seemed they had no choice, they chose bravery.
Even when it seemed they had no choice, they chose bravery.
In 1939, Jan and Antonia Zabinski ran the Warsaw Zoo.
They cared for the animals with love, care and compassion.
It was a labor of love for the couple.
The zoo was considered a jewel of the city.
Then on September 1st. 1939, German planes bombed Warsaw.
The Zoo was destroyed.
The Zabinskis took their young son and fled the destruction. When they returned, they were horrified to discover that the animals had all been killed by the bombs or had run away into the forest. Those that stayed behind were shot in the streets and butchered for their meat and pelts.
The animal-loving Zabinskis were heartbroken.
Caution: Disturbing image.
More heartbreaking was what they saw happen to their beloved city of Warsaw.
The Nazis rounded up Jews and forced them into a walled-off portion of the city that became The Warsaw Ghetto.
Thousands of Warsaw Jews were rounded up and sent to death camps.
Those left behind in the ghetto languished in hunger and sickness. Children died in the streets.
Caution: Disturbing Image
Jan Zabinski got close to the occupying forces. He made friends with the Nazis, and they made him the head of the Warsaw park system.
There was nothing Jan could do for the Jews of Warsaw without risking his own life.
Anyone caught sneaking into the Warsaw Ghetto would be shot on sight, and anyone convicted of helping Jews escape the death camps, executed.
Jan used his position to gain entrance to the ghetto. He smuggled in food and medicine, and smuggled people out in his truck.
He brought the people back to the zoo, where he and Antonia hid them wherever they could: closets, the basement of their villa, even the animal cages.
Antonia referred to the refugees as "guests" She cooked for them, cleaned for them and helped them remain hidden. She played a song on the piano whenever the Nazi officers came to the zoo and dyed their hair with peroxide to make them appear more aryan.
Despite the fact that Nazi officers came in and out of the zoo on a daily basis, none of the Zabinski's guests were ever captured. Jan was not so lucky.
After joining the resistance army during The Warsaw Uprising...
Jan was captured and sent to a prison camp.
He was released when the war ended and returned to Antonia and their zoo. The couple were credited with saving more than 300 Jews from certain death.
Today, the Warsaw Zoo is a jewel of the city once again.
The villa where so many of the Zabinski's guests were hidden has been turned into a museum.
Their story has been made into two documentaries and is now a major motion picture starring Jessica Chastain.
Would you have helped the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto?
Would you have helped the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto?