On Tuesday, September 11, 2018, the Friends of Odell Public Library will present the film, “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” beginning at 2:00 p.m., in the Odell Public Library Program Room, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL. Based on a non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman, it tells how Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Jan, director of the Warsaw Zoo, saved the lives of 300 Jews, who had been imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto after the German invasion of September 1939.
During the 1930’s, Jan Zabinski was Director of a thriving zoo in Warsaw, Poland. His wife, Antonina, was a lover of animals. Their villa acted as a nursery and home for both their son and the animals. Their life abruptly changes with the German invasion of Poland. Most of the zoo’s structures and animals destroyed, by the bombings and siege of the city . The Germans close the zoo, but Antonina and Jan continue to live in the villa.
They become active in the Polish Underground Resistance. At the zoo’s structures, they secretly shelter Jews, who have escaped the ghetto. Antonina maintains a semblance of prewar life by harboring both a menagerie of animals as well as her secret guests.
Jan Zabinski is wounded in the 1944 Warsaw uprising against the German occupiers; he is interred for a time in a POW camp. They survive the war and eventually reopen the zoo.
For their bravery in saving all-but-two of the 300-plus Jewish lives, they are recognized in Israel at the Holocaust memorial, as members of the “Righteous Among the Nations.”
This is a film that recounts a portion of the world’s darkest history. Actress Jessica Chastain is brilliant as Antonina, as she seeks to carry on, not only for her family and her beloved animals, but also those desperate for help. This is a film that uplifts us all by showing the good that was done.
Click here for a video preview.
There is no charge, but all donations assist in the licensing fee. Popcorn and a drink are free.