Antonina Żabińska


Antonina Maria Żabińska, née Erdman, was a Polish writer connected, through her husband Jan Żabiński, with the Warsaw Zoo.

Life

Antonina Żabińska's literary debut was a short story, "Pamiętnik żyrafy", in Moje pisemko. Another story, "Jak białowieskie rysice zostały Warszawiankami" appeared in 1936 as the first part of an "Opowieści przyrodnicze" series. 1939 saw her first book, Dżolly i S-ka, with a postwar re-edition subtitled "Z dziejów Warszawskiego Ogrodu Zoologicznego".
During World War II, Antonina and her husband Jan sheltered many Jews, including Warsaw Ghetto escapees, in the emptied animal enclosures and their private home on the zoo grounds. In 1965 the Żabinskis were honored with Israel's Righteous among the Nations award.
After the war, Żabińska's children's books, "Rysice" and "Borsunio" were published. In 1968 she released a diary, Ludzie i zwierzęta, with recollections of her activities during the World War II occupation. 1970 saw her last book, Nasz dom w zoo, about the Warsaw Zoo.
She was buried at the historic Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
In 2007 Diane Ackerman made Antonina and Jan the main characters of her book The Zookeeper's Wife, based on the diary, Ludzie i zwierzęta. In 2017 a feature-film adaptation of Ackerman's book was released, starring Jessica Chastain as Antonina Żabińska.
In 2008 Antonina Żabińska was posthumously honored with the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.