This zoo was one-of-a-kind, sprawling over a vast area. 0000062806 00000 n We are talking about innocent people upon whom death had been decreed. In all of these instances, the historic figure is worthy of praise for doing the right thing in a political or social climate that made it difficult. 0000148890 00000 n According to the testimonies, many Jews found temporary shelter in the zoo’s abandoned animal cells, until they were able to relocate to permanent places of refuge elsewhere. He put it in a glass jar and buried it in the zoo grounds. Antonina and Jan married in 1931 and moved across the river to Praga, a tough industrial district only fifteen minutes away from downtown Warsaw. 0000062452 00000 n That was the real-life consequence that zookeepers' Jan and Antonina Zabinski …

0000005441 00000 n Thus, in 1939, Hitler pushed to incorporate Poland into Germany, “…reducing Poland to a satellite or, at most, to a junior ally of Germany—even at the risk of war” (Lukacs 168). 0000145467 00000 n Under the pretext of supervising the trees and small public garden within the ghetto area, he visited his Jewish acquaintances and helped them as best as he could. After the ghetto was liquidated, she went into hiding and continued to work on her diary, recording events for posterity. 0000004263 00000 n 0000005565 00000 n

Out of the 300 people the Zabinskis saved, only two died during the war; all the others remarkably found refuge and safe passage elsewhere.In 1968 the state of Israel honored the Zabinskis with the title "Righteous Among the Nations," a recognition that was given to all those brave citizens who helped save Jews during the Holocaust. Her father, Antoni Erdman, was an engineer who based his operations in St. Petersburg and “…travelled throughout Russia following his trade” (Ackerman 18). California State University Channel Islands

The Germans appointed him superintendent of the city's public parks as well. When Germans invaded and bombed Warsaw in 1939 Żabiński, together with his wife Antonina, saved more than 300 Jews from starvation or shipping them to the German death camp Treblinka.

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0000016991 00000 n 0000131256 00000 n The heavy bombings of the city destroyed a significant portion of the zoo, and some animals were killed. Many times I wished to analyze the causes for dislike for Jews and I could not find any, besides artificially formed ones.”The Yad Vashem website had recently undergone a major upgrade!The page you are looking for has apparently been moved.We are therefore redirecting you to what we hope will be a useful landing page.For any questions/clarifications/problems, please contact: by Righteous Among the Nations in the Warsaw Zoo: Moshe Tirosh’s testimonyPoland. The Encyclopedia of the Righteous among the NationsThe Encyclopedia of the Righteous among the NationsThe Encyclopedia of the Righteous among the Nations Editors: Sara Bender and Shmuel Krakowski Copyright © 2020 Yad Vashem. On the eve of the German occupation, Żabiński was director of the Warsaw Zoo and a teacher of geography in the private gymnasium of Kreczmara. Antonina Zabinski was a Russian-born Pole born in 1908. Jan & Antonina Zabinski: A Family That Defied the Nazis Corie Rosen California State University Channel Islands Summer 2017 Early Life and Education Antonina Zabinski was a Russian-born Pole born in 1908. As an employee of the Warsaw municipality he was allowed to enter the ghetto. 0000055957 00000 n 0000145545 00000 n 0000006302 00000 n For three years, they chose to hide and shelter close to 300 Jews and political insurgents at their zoo.

Dr. Jan Zabinski, with his sparkling blue eyes behind his spectacles, answered these questions without hesitation: “I endangered myself and assisted them not because they were Jewish, but because they were persecuted. “Sometime in the winter of 1937-38, Hitler became convinced that he would not live much longer, and that therefore the time had come to translate the prospect of a greater German Reich into action…” (Lukacs 168). Babies in strollers or carriers will not be permitted to enter.Dr. In addition, close to a dozen Jews were sheltered in Zabinski's two-story private home on the zoo's grounds. When Antonina was nine-years-old, her father and stepmother were shot by Bolshevik soldiers in the early days of the Russian Revolution of 1917. 0000004009 00000 n 0000002359 00000 n Based on Antonina's diary, their heroic story is the focus of the 2017 film, As a staunch atheist, Jan credits his willingness to fight for the Jews as an opportunity to show his humanity. 0000302950 00000 n

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0000148968 00000 n It was shocking. Her father, Antoni Erdman, was an engineer who based his operations in St. Petersburg and “…travelled throughout Russia following his trade” (Ackerman 18).

0000142007 00000 n Passionate animal lovers, Jan and Antonina met in the 1920’s at Warsaw University, where they were both studying Life Science. 0000017107 00000 n Antonina used music to communicate to the escapees, playing a particular tune to signal when they needed to hide and then playing a different tune when the coast was clear. Biography.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content.Dr. • Frank Fox: Jews and Buffaloes, Victims of Nazi Pseudo-science Just like in the movie, the real-life fate of the Zabinskis had a happy ending: Jan survived the prison camp and returned to his family. 0000055360 00000 n 0000134275 00000 n

There are stories throughout history of people risking their personal safety and reputation to do what they believe is right. Many times I wished to analyze the causes for dislike for Jews and I could not find any, besides artificially formed ones.