The Librarian of Auschwitz

As the war nears its end, Auschwitz sees more and more transports arriving. Within a few days, there are 7,500 new prisoners; Germans, Czechs, Austrians and Dutch. The camp is so crowded that Dita and her mother share their bunk with a Dutch woman who is too terrified to speak. The classroom is chaos, and when the new prisoners file in, they can’t believe there’s a school and a library. They are astonished to see the books, and though a mere eight-book library would normally seem miniscule, here, eight books seems like an extravagance in a world where books for Jews have been banned for years.

Dita gives a lecture about the library and then, overwhelmed by the disorder, takes A Short History of the World by H.G. Wells to the latrine to read in peace. She can’t even get peace in the cold, smelly toilet. There, she witnesses all manner of deals being made, most especially the prostitution that occurs. Most of the recruits for the prostitution are mothers, whose extra ration of bread in exchange for their bodies, is given to their children.

Viktor Pestek and Siegfried Lederer have procured the papers for Renee and her mother and are returning to Auschwitz.