The only title Dita can remember is A Short History of the World, by HG Wells, in Czech. Her friend, Auschwitz survivor Ruth Bondy, who recently passed away, also remembered a geographical atlas and something by Sigmund Freud. Another survivor friend, Eva Merova, says there was a book of short stories by Czech writer Karel Capek. Educators would borrow books to teach the alphabet to the younger children. “As there were no pencils or papers to make notes I had to remember who took what at the end of each day.” In 2014, Iturbe started a new children's literature series: La Isla de Susú, which is currently at its fourth book into the series, it has also been translated to Korean. In 2017, he published A cielo abierto about the lives of pioneering French air mail pilots Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (best known as the author of The Little Prince), Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet. To date the novel has been translated into six languages; including into English, as The Prince of the Skies. The novel was awarded the Premio Biblioteca Breve in 2017. [5] Professor [ edit ] Fredy, then aged 27, was an inspirational educator who created a small oasis of relative normality within the death camp. Dita had known him from her childhood in Prague, where he was her sports instructor. She had met him again in the Terezin Ghetto, where he was running the department for youths and children at the Jewish ghetto administration.

The Librarian of Auschwitz: The heart-breaking Sunday Times

Dita Polachova was raised in a loving home in Prague, the only child of book-loving parents, who filled their shelves with German, Czech and French books. Little did she know that by the age of 14 her life would be saved by a dozen tattered books which comprised possibly the smallest library in the world, in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In 2004, he published his first novel: Rectos torcidos. [1] A humorous novel where the protagonist, a Barceloneta neighbour, starts up his own unique business: To transform Don Quixote and other literature classics into toilet paper to read them in the only place where people have their five minutes of peace a day. In the highest days of Barcelona’s economy he already bitterly criticised the changes Barcelona as a city was undergoing to become a theme park for tourism. In 2008 he published the first title of the children’s book series Los casos del inspector Cito, [2] illustrated by Álex Omist. A police series with plenty of humor in a way for the youngest to get into their firsts police novels. Los casos del inspector Cito is a collection currently made of 10 books and has been translated into nine languages. Find sources: "Antonio Iturbe"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( November 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) During these years Iturbe has also been a postgraduate professor at the Master of Cultural Journalism at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Master of Edition at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. He has given lectures as a guest-professor in the faculties of Journalism at the Universidad Blanquerna, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and at the Universitad Abat Oliba.

He has belonged to the committee of the selection Bibliotecas de Barcelona and has been honoured President of the Association of Cultural Journalists of Catalonia. In Zaragoza, he has been the at the panel experts in the Asociación Miguel Fleta.

The Librarian of Auschwitz Book Review | Common Sense Media

In November 1942, thirteen-year-old Dita and her parents were sent to the Terezin ghetto, and from there to Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1943.Like Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, it’s a sophisticated novel with mature themes, delivering an emotionally searing reading experience. An important novel that will stand with other powerful testaments from the Holocaust era." — Booklist, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz Although prisoners were only considered children until the age of 14, Fredy succeeded in getting those between the age of 14-16 designated as “assistants”, doing all types of work from sweeping the floor or helping with the distribution of the daily soup. For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice: this is the story of the smallest library in the world - and the most dangerous. By 1941 they were evicted again from the rented flat where they lived with her grandparents. By now they were squashed into a room in an apartment shared by another family in the part of the city which in the past had been the Jewish ghetto.

The Librarian of Auschwitz (Paperback) - Waterstones The Librarian of Auschwitz (Paperback) - Waterstones

In 1949 they moved to Israel with their young son and other survivor friends. They lived in Kibbutz Givat Chaim, near Hadera, where Otto was an English teacher and Dita worked in the shoe-repair shop. Later Dita also became an English teacher and they taught at the Hadassim school, east of Netanya, founded in 1947 for European Jewish refugee children. an unforgettable, heartbreaking novel." — Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz It wasn't an extensive library. In fact, it consisted of eight books and some of them were in poor condition. But they were books. In this incredibly dark place, they were a reminder of less sombre times, when words rang out more loudly than machine guns...' The Librarian of Auschwitz is a heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring work of art." — Shelf Awareness, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz In the following months Dita found a home with her friend Margit in the spa town of Tepice. Otto wrote to her every day. A year after they had first bumped into each other he said: “Why don’t you come to Prague? I can’t love you from a distance.” They married in 1947.Born in Zaragoza, his family moved to Barcelona and Iturbe grew up in the Barceloneta neighbourhood. He pursued a bachelor's degree in journalism at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, where he graduated in 1991. He balanced his studies with several jobs: parking guard, baker, and an auditor. His first job as a journalist, was in a local Barcelona television show, Televisió de Ciutat Vella, where he worked as a reporter.

The Librarian of Auschwitz - Macmillan The Librarian of Auschwitz - Macmillan

In 1996, he was involved in the emerging book magazine Que Leer, in which he held the position of chief editor, deputy director and, since 2008, director. Throughout these years Iturbe also took part, among many media endeavours, such as the magazine Fotogramas, the book section of Protagonistas in the national radio broadcaster Onda Cero, or in cultural divulgation for Ona Catalana, Icat FM or La Cope de Bilbao, and in cultural supplements for journals La Vanguardia and Avui. She told us of the carefree childhood she’d had in a secular home. Until she was eight she didn’t even know she was Jewish. “When I was in second grade, I found a piece of paper on my desk with the words, ‘You are a Jew’. I went home and asked: ‘Mum, what is a Jew?’ She explained that people have different religions, Christians, Protestants and Jews in Czechoslovakia. I said: ‘And we are Jews?’ The answer was a simple ‘yes’.”She has featured in books herself. Alberto Manguel mentioned her “clandestine children’s library” in his book about the great libraries of the world. This piqued the interest of Spanish writer Antonio Iturbe who wrote The Librarian of Auschwitz, a semi-fictionalised version of Dita’s story, based on many conversations. An English translation is now available, published a few months ago. After graduating, he created the free magazine Gratix, which he directed and, after taking part in various short media projects, in 1993 got into being the chief supervisor of the supplement television of El Periódico. Subsequently, he became editor of cinema-magazine Fantastic Magazine.