Focus Features

@FocusFeatures hired me to join them on a visit to the Warsaw Zoo ahead of the release of their film, @TheZookeepersWife, where we learned about the heroics of the zoo’s operators, Antonina and Jan Żabiński. During World War II Antonia and Jan made the dangerous decision to help Jews escape from the Warsaw ghetto by hiding them around the zoo and in the basement of their villa until they could be safely relocated elsewhere. Their efforts resulted in more than 300 Jewish lives spared from the Holocaust. As a Jewish woman whose family fled the war, and whose husband’s Grandmother bore the branding of her time at Auschwitz, seeing a true tale of bravery and selflessness during such a dark time in our history was inspiring. It’s not easy to find courage when faced with evil, but Antonia’s story gave me hope that good people like her can & will prevail.