Books - a contraband punishable by death - are used to teach the children in unit 31, to escape the harsh reality and feel a sense of normalcy.

Antonio Iturbe - Wikipedia

Dita and her parents were first relegated to the Terezin ghetto, before being sent to the concentration camp. These are questions that a new book, The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, grapples with as it pulls back the curtain of history to reveal the story of Dita Kraus (née Poláchová), a survivor of the Holocaust who served as the secret librarian of the children’s block in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp before 3,792 of the prisoners were sent to the gas chambers in March 1944. I do not believe in coincidence, and the author Antonio Iturbe, was destined to meet and converse with the main character Dita. Iturbe includes a moving postscript which explains his reason for writing the book and his meeting with the woman that inspired this story, Dita herself, who is still as strong, outspoken and passionate in her eighties as she was as a young girl.

It lacked passion, emotion and the book was slow in many places and many of the characters less than interesting.

Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel Book Review The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel Book Review

this is a difficult for me to rate, as i have found to be the case with many WWII/holocaust stories that are based on real life people but written as a work of fiction. Haverá sempre quem pense que foi um acto de coragem inútil num campo de extermínio, quando há outras preocupações mais prementes: os livros não curam doenças, nem podem ser usados como armas para derrotar um exército de verdugos, não enchem o estômago nem matam a sede. He pursued a bachelor's degree in journalism at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, where he graduated in 1991. In the highest days of Barcelona’s economy he already bitterly criticised the changes Barcelona as a city was undergoing to become a theme park for tourism.Doch diese acht Bücher, die zum Teil schon beinahe auseinanderfallen, sind ein Schatz im trüben, schrecklichen Alltag der Menschen im KZ. Placed in the uniquely special Block 31, where families are allowed to remain together, Dita acquires a unique title: Librarian of the clandestine school.

The Librarian of Auschwitz - Penguin Books UK

She had met him again in the Terezin Ghetto, where he was running the department for youths and children at the Jewish ghetto administration. It is always a revelation when you read a book about someone who at such a young age took on a role that was not only dangerous but also one in which death awaited her if she was caught. Alberto Manguel mentioned her “clandestine children’s library” in his book about the great libraries of the world. I especially thought the conversations and behaviours (sometimes cruel and greedy) between prisoners to be quite enlightening regarding the conditions in these camps.

Books are hard to come by, as many of them have been burned and deemed ‘blasphemous’ and ‘against the Fuhrer’, so Dita knows the job is a dangerous one. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. Dita is just 14years old and has been chosen and trusted to be the class librarian of Block 31, now you might think oh well it's only a librarian, but books are banned and anyone caught with them are sentenced to death!