The Auschwitz Librarian (2012) is a historical novel by the Spanish writer and journalist Antonio González Iturbe. It recounts the feat carried out by Dita Adlerova, who, when she was barely 14 years old, became a cultural heroine in the middle of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland.
This girl offered books to the children of block 31 and created - at the direction of the head of that sector, Fredy Hirsch - a clandestine space for teaching. Therefore, it represents a moving story about human resistance to overcome the horror of Nazism. Not surprisingly, this title has been translated into 31 languages and has won various national and international awards.
About the Author
Antonio González Iturbe was born in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1967. He spent his childhood and youth in Barcelona, where he studied Information Sciences. Before graduating in 1991, He worked in various trades: from baker to journalistic collaborator on local television to support himself and finish his studies.
After graduating, he has served as editor and editor-in-chief of magazines and publications related to the literary and artistic sphere. He has also carried out cultural outreach work in daily supplements such as La Vanguardia. Today, he is director of the magazine Book compassbesides being a teacher at the University of Barcelona and at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Literary career
Four novels, two essays and seventeen children's books (divided into two series) are the literary baggage of Antonio González Iturbe. It is a journey started with Straight Twisted (2004), his first novel, with which, he obtained some recognition. Although, without a doubt, his best known work and with the best editorial numbers has been The Auschwitz Librarian.
Summary of The Auschwitz Librarian
In the concentration camp and extermination of Auschwitz, a German Jew named Fredy Hirsch, is appointed to take charge of barracks 31, where there are children. Despite the express prohibition of the Nazis, Hirsch always had the desire to create a clandestine school. Obviously, it was not a simple task, since the texts of studies, religion or politics were completely forbidden.
Later, little Dita Adlerova arrived at the concentration camp, who, at the age of 14, agreed to help as a librarian. On the other hand, the daily life in that horrible enclosure will inevitably be a tragedy. As the plot progresses, terrible and sad stories are told. But there was also room for love (for example, between a Nazi soldier and a young Jewish woman).
The librarian
Dita begins her work as a librarian for a year. During that time she keeps hidden (sometimes inside her dress) the only eight books there, among which there are authors like HG Wells or Freud. Thus, Adlerova overcomes horror through a commitment to freedom. Possibly, the young librarian did not know if she would make it out of Auschwitz alive.
Even so, the young protagonist works to protect the small library without thinking much about herself. Subsequently, his transfer to Bergen-Belsen is announced - the same where he died of typhus Anne Frank- in Germany. Later, Hirsch's death occurs and Dita meets the infamous Dr. Mengele (famous for experimenting with Jews). Finally, she was released near the end of the war.
Importance of the work
While it has been a long time since the fall of the Nazis in 1945, and the world has changed profoundly since then, that human tragedy remains. Namely, la Shoah, an expression that means "catastrophe", It not only symbolizes an incredible number of deaths, but the exaltation of human evil. For this reason, literature in general has recreated what happened in order to preserve memory.
In fact, when taking a story that occurred in the concentration camps, The Auschwitz Librarian is sending a message to society: “remember”. Therefore, its author declares the validity of this issue that represents a living pain even for Europe and the West in general.
Tribute to the victims and the books
Regarding the meaning that has been given to this novel, their testimonial character is especially valued. In the same way, it has been recognized in his realistic narrative about what happened in the Nazi concentration camps. At the same time, this book is a tribute to the victims and a review of the strength of those who suffered from Nazism.
Additionally, an extremely inspiring element appears —Both for the writer, as for the readers—: The power of the books. This is due, in part, to Iturbe's declared love for libraries, since in this way he discovered the story of Dita Kraus (the protagonist's married name).
Analysis of The Librarian of Auschwitz
The historical novel
The crude and detailed narrative incorporates some fictional passages, but the entire story is completely based on real events.. In this text, the protagonist conquers the reader with her courage and manages to survive. Currently, Dita lives in Israel, the widow of the writer Otto Kraus (to whom she was married for 54 years).
Moreover, the fiction present in the novel is reduced to temporal or character combinations, but no segment is lied or exaggerated. In reality, almost all names, dates, places, and references are accurate. The latter was confirmed by Dita Kraus herself in an interview when she learned of the best-seller rating she gave it Amazon.
The themes of the novel
In a historical novel about World War II (or about any long-running warfare), the theme of human tragedy is often at the center of the plot. But this is not the case The Auschwitz Librarian. Rather the focus falls on the stage in which the demonstrations of courage carried out by the characters described took place.
The theme of human evil is transversal, but the themes that Iturbe wants to exalt and communicate are different. However, In the face of so much cruelty and death, you can only transcend with a commendable will. In this context, Fredy Hirsch is the personification of courage while Dita symbolizes commitment; both represent hope.
Hope and will
The Auschwitz Librarian is an ode to human virtues and qualities capable of emerging in the worst case scenario. Because, to tell the truth, there are never happy endings in a war. Those kinds of closures only have a place in Hollywood movies; real life is something else.
After a conflict of such magnitude, only survivors, displaced people, ruins and pain remain. In any case, witnesses will always be able to warn future generations to prevent victims and events from falling into oblivion ... It is the best way to honor the fallen.