The Librarian of Auschwitz: The heart-breaking Sunday Times bestseller based on the incredible true story of Dita Kraus

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To date the novel has been translated into six languages; including into English, as The Prince of the Skies. For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice: this is the story of the smallest library in the world - and the most dangerous. How does she explain her survival for two and a half years in the ghetto, concentration and extermination camps?

Librarian of Auschwitz: The heart-breaking Sunday Times The Librarian of Auschwitz: The heart-breaking Sunday Times

Mengele, Adolf Eichmann, and camp Kommandant Rudolf Hoss) and prisoners (Dita's best friend, Margit Barnai, and Resistance leader David Schmulewski). At some point, I was all in - ‘hooked’ - transported to a children’s school,- “Block 31” within a ‘family camp’, in Auschwitz - written from young people’s perspectives.Fact and fiction are blended so seamlessly in The Librarian of Auschwitz that some readers may have difficulty recognizing which characters are real and which are fictional.

The Librarian of Auschwitz: The heart-breaking Sunday Times

That’s their name for one of the SS noncommissioned officers, a sergeant who always walks with his hands tucked into the sleeves of his military greatcoat as if he were a priest, though the only religion he practices is cruelty. After reading some classic Holocaust novels such as Night| by Elie Wiesel and the classic The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank or even great young adults novels such as The Edelweiss Express, or the amazing The Book Thief. 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! The authors’ weave a lovely tale about the importance of books in the brutal environment of the Nazi concentration camps. As its known now, the only purpose of Block 31 was to try and fool the international communty that the Nazis were not killing the prisioners.I only vaguely knew about books, but never about the librarian running such a clandestine operation in a death camp like Auschwitz. The SS are unaware of the library's existence so everyday brings the risk of discovery; yet Dita would have it no other way. Where thousands of innocent lives are taken every day, horrific experiments are done on children, families are ripped apart, they are forced to live like cattle, fighting for beds with barely any food. Iturbe, a Spanish journalist (the book was translated into English by Lilit Thwaites), interviewed Kraus for the book and linked her story with the narratives of other historical figures. Dita is a curious, book-loving young girl who displays tremendous bravery in helping her family and other prisoners at the concentration camp.

Antonio Iturbe - Wikipedia

Real horrors, but the book was slow in many places and many of the characters less than interesting. What I wasn't expecting was the glimpse of hope and humanity the prisoners of building 31 managed to preserve. Since this story has a background in truth we learn a lot about the daily life in a concentration camp and how horrible it was to live in one. Viktor smuggles out a male prisoner, Siegfried Lederer, to assist him in getting Renee and her mother papers for their escape. 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.Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope. During those times, it felt as if the character stepped away from the story and was educating the reader on the history of what happened. The family camp was a cover the Germans concocted to deceive the world as to what was really happening in Auschwitz. Overall, if you are interested in a great read that will give some perspective of what these poor people had to endure, and in the end see some triumph, this is a great book to do so.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, Paperback The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, Paperback

Over the course of her imprisonment, Dita’s father dies of typhus, and she and her mother disguise themselves as male prisoners to say their last goodbyes. He has belonged to the committee of the selection Bibliotecas de Barcelona and has been honoured President of the Association of Cultural Journalists of Catalonia. Incidentally, at the end of the book, the author describes his meeting with Dita Kraus and how they went to Terezin together. Dita is brave and steadfast, and becomes the librarian of a barrack used as a school in case of an inspection. They are taught the basics, but it is books such as "The Librarian of Auschwitz" bring the stories of the people who suffered so endlessly to life.La real historia de Dita Dorachova una niña de 14 años que durante su encierro en el campo de concentración de Aushwitz, arriesgo su vida para convertirse en la guardiana de 8 libros que eran utilizados en el pabellón 31 para enseñar, entretener o distraer a los niños durante el infierno nazi. The novel moves from Dita and her family's privileged life in Prague to Auschwitz and then to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. as a fellow bookworm, its quite heartening to read about how books were the source of her courage, inspiration, and escape. It lacked passion, emotion and the book was slow in many places and many of the characters less than interesting.