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Who’s who

Characters in the book… Stefan Zabinski and Marcus Tenenbaum Shlomo and Otto Jan and Antonina Zabinski Simon and Lonia Tenenbaum Kasia and Tuzinka Janusz Korczak Wladyslaw Szpilman Lutz Heck and Ziegler Hitler, Himmler, Hydrech, Frank, Krüger

Stefan Zabinski and Marcus Tenenbaum are fictional characters. The Zabinskis real son was Ryszard who was four at the beginning of the war. For the story in my book to work Stefan had to be twelve. The Tenenbaums had a daughter Irena – I created Marcus, a twelve year old Jewish boy, to be Stefan’s friend. Although fictitious, this friendship symbolises the historical bond between Jews and non-Jews in Poland and is the central relationship in the book Stefan Zabinski and Marcus Tenenbaum

Jan Zabinski was the director of the Warsaw Zoo from He improved it’s facilities and increased the number of animals on display considerably. During the war he and his wife Antonina used the empty animal shelters and the basement of their own villa, to hide about 300 Jews. Jan and Antonina Zabinski

Simon (Szymon) Tenenbaum was a world respected entomologist, whose insect collection was kept in the zoo during the war for safe keeping. He died in the ghetto in June After the war his wife, Lonia, donated the collection to the State Zoological Museum of Poland. Simon Tenenbaum is buried in Warsaw’s Jewish cemetery. Simon and Lonia Tenenbaum

Janusz Korczak was the founder and principle of two orphanages in Warsaw. He was a doctor, writer and educator who devoted his life to the welfare and education of children. Although he was offered safe passage out of the ghetto he refused to abandon the orphans in his care and stayed with them all the way to the death camps of Treblinka. His many publications are still widely read throughout the world. Janusz Korczak

Shlomo and Otto are fictional characters. Shlomo is an amalgam of many of the characters I have read about in books about the time. Otto’s character is fictional, but the more I read about zoo life before and during the war the more real he seemed to become! Shlomo and Otto

Kasia, one of the Zoo’s African elephants, gave birth to Tuzinka in April At that time she was only the twelfth elephant ever to be born in captivity – hence her name (tuzin is Polish for dozen). Kasia and Tuzinka

Before the war Wladyslaw Spilman was a renowned Polish pianist who regularly performed on national radio. When the ghetto was established he continued to entertain people in cafés and restaurants and, after the war, was the only surviving member of his family. His war time experiences were chronicled in his book “The Pianist” which was made into a successful film in Wladyslaw Szpilman

Lutz Heck was the director of Berlin Zoo. Along with his brother Heinz he set out to recreate an extinct bread of cattle by selectively breeding carefully chosen specimens. With the encouragement and support of Herman Goering, a prominent Nazi, he sort to “cleanse” Europe's cattle population in the same way that Hitler was “purifying” Europe’s humans. Lutz Heck was the director of Berlin Zoo. Along with his brother Heinz he set out to recreate an extinct bread of cattle by selectively breeding carefully chosen specimens. With the encouragement and support of Herman Goering, a prominent Nazi, he sort to “cleanse” Europe's cattle population in the same way that Hitler was “purifying” Europe’s humans. Ziegler was a German soldier who was in charge of organising work parties of Jewish slave labour to work in Polish factories. He was a lover of insects and a frequent visitor to the zoo. By winning over his trust Jan Zabinski was able to exploit this connection to help smuggle out many of the Jews he saved. Lutz Heck and Ziegler

Adolf Hitler – German Chancellor from and leader of the National Socialist German Workers, or NAZI, Party. Heinrich Himmler – appointed head of the SS in 1929 and was responsible for organising and implementing the NAZI policy of genocide based on racial purity. Reinhard Heydrich – a leading NAZI and eventual head of the Gestapo (Hitler’s special police force) and is generally considered to be the mastermind behind the “Final Solution” to annihilate Europe’s Jews. Hitler, Himmler and Hydrech

Hans Frank – Governor General of Occupied Poland Friedrich Krüger – Police Leader in the General Government of Occupied Poland Frank and Krüger