Book Review: The Librarian of Auschwitz by S. Rubio et al.

The Librarian of Auschwitz adapted by by Salva Rubio from the novel by Antonio Iturbe and illustrated by Loreto Aroca

Edita Polachova was a normal girl living in Prague during the years leading up to World War II. She loved books and couldn't read enough to satisfy her. As the Germans moved into Czechoslovakia, her Jewish family was gradually forced out of their homes and into the Nazi death machine that was the concentration camps. Edita and her mother wound up at Auschwitz, though they were put in Camp BIIb, where they kept their clothes and their hair and their family ties. It was a section of the camp designed to fool visitors (like the International Red Cross) into thinking that humane conditions existed there. Even so, conditions were harsh. One prisoner, Fredy Hirsch, helped to organize the Jewish prisoners and managed to get one of the buildings designated as the "children's area" to keep the children out of trouble. But they also provided some education while the prison guards were not looking. A few books were available and entrusted to the care of Edita, who became the "librarian of Auschwitz." Any books were forbidden to the prisoners, so her job was dangerous. The story of her survival is fascinating and provides an extra perspective on life in the camps.

Though this graphic novel is based on a historical novel, Edita Polachova is still alive, having married another survivor, Otto Kraus, and moved to Israel to become a teacher. Artistic license was used in both the novel and this book but the basics of the story are true.

Recommended.