The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

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Book Review of The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

Last fall I traveled to Washington D.C. with my husband. He was on a work trip, so while he worked, I walked miles and miles and tried to see everything I could. It was my first trip to D.C., and I was immediately hooked. I loved it so much! One of the museums I walked through was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. If you’re visiting D.C., I highly recommend visiting the museum. It’s overwhelming. Sad. Awful. Raw. Powerful. Heart wrenching. Heartbreaking. Unbelievable. So important. I feel the same way about The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. Stories like these cannot get lost in history.

Blurb:

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, the award-winning The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. This edition includes a Q&A with Dita Kraus and discussion questions.

As a young girl, Dita is imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken from her home in Prague in 1939, Dita does her best to adjust to the constant terror of her new reality. But even amidst horror, human strength and ingenuity persevere. When Jewish leader Fredy Hirsch entrusts Dita with eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak into the camp, She embraces the responsibility―and so becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

From one of the darkest chapters in history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

My Book Review:

This powerful story is based on the experiences of Dita Kraus, who was a prisoner in Auschwitz. Dita is a hero. She hid, guarded, and took care of the precious few books that were smuggled into the prison. She needed a way to quickly hide the books if there were ever a surprise inspection, so she sewed pockets inside her skirt to hide the books. If she had been found out, she would have been killed.

I love books, but would I risk my life for them? Would you? The teachers in the family camp deemed it important enough to keep the knowledge and to pass the knowledge on to the children that they taught. The books were random, but very beloved. Consequently, they risked death by reading and teaching from the precious books.

You all know how important books are to me, and how important learning and reading is. Stories like this are one of my whys. Remember. Learn. Keep the memory of experiences, places, people, events alive so the stories are not lost. Learn about the past. Learn from the people that experienced them. This book is fiction, but based on real experiences. Especially with attitudes in the world today, we need to remember. Remember the millions who lost their lives in places like Auschwitz. We cannot allow people to be treated like this ever again.

The book is very well written. It hooked me from the beginning, and I could not put it down. So powerful. It has a few different plot lines that seamlessly merge together, and even though you know people lived through those circumstances, you don’t understand how. To me it showed the power of working together and having a strong community. Even though there was death and destruction everywhere, these people still found hope in the little things.

This book has become one of my favorites. I felt drawn to Dita because of my love of books and reading. What would I do? That’s what I kept wondering. What would I do? There are examples of people who risked their lives for others, who kept a smile on their faces in order to help the children, who sacrificed their comfort or safety (it’s all relative, here) to help someone else. Even though it’s dark and ugly and raw, there is a glimmer of hope.

The characters bring the story to life and make you feel like you are right there with them. Each character is well written and well developed. Some characters you learn to love, and others you learn to dislike (A charitable word–How could they do these things and be ok with themselves?). Some characters provoke fear and anguish while others provide help and hope. I related so much to Dita and her mother.

Iturbe and the translators did an amazing job of setting the scene and describing the feelings, moods, emotions, and actions in the story. It’s so well written. There are so many lessons to be learned in this book: the importance of learning and knowledge, the strength of the human spirit, the awfulness of the human spirit, finding hope in darkness, the realization of how blessed we are, and the importance of remembering the past.

Content Rating: R

Profanity: High
- (Several “f” words along with other words.)
Intimacy: Moderate
- (Discussion of bare genitalia, creepy stalker guys, a closed-door intimacy scene, an LGB relationship.)
Violence: High
- (It’s Auschwitz-death, cruelty, and atrocities abound.)
Themes: Adult
- (It is quite graphic and raw.)