Promotional Information

A novel based on the incredible true story of Dita Kraus, holocaust survivor and secret librarian for the children's block in Auschwitz.

About the Author

Antonio Iturbe lives in Spain, where he is both a novelist and a journalist. In researching The Librarian of Auschwitz, he interviewed Dita Kraus, the real-life librarian of Auschwitz.

Lilit Zekulin Thwaites is an award-winning literary translator. After thirty years as an academic at La Trobe University in Australia, she retired from teaching and now focuses primarily on her ongoing translation and research projects.

Dita Kraus was born in Prague. In 1942, when Dita was thirteen years old , she and her parents were deported to Ghetto Theresienstadt and later to Auschwitz,. Neither of Dita's parents survived. After the war Dita married the author Otto B. Kraus. They emigrated to Israel in 1949, where they both worked as teachers They had three children. Since Otto's death in 2000 , Dita lives alone in Netanya. She has four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Despite the horrors of the concentration camps, Dita has kept her positive approach to life.

Reviews

an unforgettable, heartbreaking novel
*Publishers Weekly, starred review*

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*

Though no punches are pulled about the unimaginable atrocity of the death camps, a life-affirming history.
*Kirkus Reviews, starred review*

this novel is one that could easily be recommended... alongside Elie Wiesel's Night and The Diary of Anne Frank ...once read, will never be forgotten...A hauntingly authentic Holocaust retelling
*School Library Journal*

an engrossing read, seamlessly translated from Iturbe's original Spanish. Iturbe retains the dignity and full horror of Dita's situation, while creating a narrative of hope and bravery in the face of fear.
*Compass Magazine*