New Film Starring Oscar-Winner Jessica Chastain Tells True Story of Polish Zookeepers Who Rescued Hundreds of Jews From the Nazis
by Shiryn Ghermezian
A new, upcoming film tells the true story of a Polish couple who saved the lives of over 300 Jews during World War II, by hiding the former prisoners of the Warsaw Ghetto in their zoo.
“The Zookeeper’s Wife,” based on the book of the same title by Diane Ackerman, stars Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain as Antonina Żabińska, who ran the Warsaw Zoo with her husband, Jan, and used their facility to harbor Jews after the country was occupied by the Nazis.
In the film’s trailer, released Thursday, Antonina is seen encouraging her husband to smuggle the Jews to safety, saying, “We have room, we can hide them. Bring as many as you can.” In another scene, she is heard warning the Jewish refugees, “German troops come every morning, you can’t make a sound.”
“The Zookeeper’s Wife” opens in theaters on March 31, 2017.
Watch the trailer below: