The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

       The novel The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman recounts one Polish couple's brave attempts and successes of turning their zoo into a part of the Underground for Jews during the Holocaust. All of the animals from the zoo are killed or escape quite early in the story, but there are times when humans act like animals and times when you can see the connections between them. Antonina, the zookeeper's wife, "felt convinced that people needed to connect more with their animal nature" (34). The ideas and themes that Ackerman presents go along with Antonina's philosophy.
      
       Throughout the novel, humans are associated with animal-like phrases and perform behaviors that are common in animals. One of the first examples of this is early in the story when Ackerman writes that "the Żabińskis invited artists of all stripes to come and uncage their imaginations"(35). Obviously Ackerman literally means that the Żabińskis welcomed a diverse population into their zoo to help them use their imaginations, but by comparing people to animals she supports Antonina's theory that all humans have an animal nature. Another instance of this is when Ackerman writes, "like other animal mothers, [Antonina] grew desperate to find a safe hiding place for her young" (55) in the midst of the war. This show how people embrace their animal instincts in times of need. An ironic example of when humans showed animal characteristics was when The Żabińskis hid Jews in their zoo, so the people almost took on the roles of the murdered animals. Ackerman writes, "[the zoos] inhabitants mastered the martial arts of stealth: tiptoe, freeze, camouflage, distract, pantomime. Some villa Guests hid while others hovered, emerging only after dark to roam the house at liberty" (120). These actions of stealth, like camouflaging, seems like something an animal would do. People that emerged "only after dark" took on the persona of nocturnal organisms. These are just a few examples of the ongoing comparison of people and animals.
     
       The actions of people against both humans and animals are remarkably or horrifyingly similar. Early in the book, Lutz Heck, a fellow zoo director who happened to be German, called on the Żabińskis with the promise to rebuild their zoo as the falling bombs destroyed it piece by piece. But Heck betrayed them and invited his German comrades over to the zoo for a little New Year's gathering that involved shooting each and every animal left at the crumbling zoo. The description of the innocent animals being brutally murdered in their own home for sport is very disturbing, but not unlike what happens later in the book to people. The perfect and famous example is the Holocaust in general, but The Zookeeper's Wife actually focuses more on the situations in the Ghetto. The wall separating the Ghetto and the Aryan side often had small holes in the masonry that allowed the smallest of children to pass in and out as smugglers and traders, "who risked death daily as their families' breadwinners" (137). A German major that patrolled the walls was given the nickname Frankenstein. One Ghetto child and renowned smuggler recalled, "he loved to hunt, but I suppose he must have become bored with animals and decided that shooting Jewish children was a more enjoyable pastime" (138). He then goes on to say that when there were no smugglers to kill, Frankenstein would summon random children who happened to be around, pull out his gun, and shoot them in the back of the head. This information takes a while to process because it is so brutally raw--one can't imagine how a person could end another's life for mere pleasure, much less an innocent child with their lives ahead of them. This is how the murders of the animals and children are linked: they're both so innocent.

       Antonina and Ackerman both believe that animals and humans are more alike than most people think. The zookeeper's wife shows it through her words and thoughts, while the author shows it through her writing.