DELAYED LIFE: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz

Dita was transported to Auschwitz in December 1943, leaving the Terezin (Theresienstadt) Ghetto in Prague where life had been lived in constant fear of the transportations. Waiting for the transport she first saw her future husband Otto Kraus, eight years her senior and at this stage of no interest to the 14-year old who preferred to flirt with boys of her own age. Dita and her parents were among those herded into a train truck with only standing room and a single bucket. After two days they arrived at Auschwitz, with guards beating them as they left the train. Dita's father died a few weeks later. She is assigned to work with children in the Kinderblock and this is where she becomes the "librarian of Auschwitz" with about 12 books in her library. Her future husband Otto is one of the educators, but at this stage they never speak. A young man Pavel has somehow got hold of some sausage and shares it with Dita. Three weeks later he is sent to the gas chambers. With half the barracks exterminated, Dita is able to get a blanket for herself and her mother Liesl, improving their chances of survival in sub-zero temperatures. Undergoing selection by the terrible doctor Mengele, Dita lies about her age, saying she is a painter, so Mengele saves her to paint his portrait. Her mother is condemned as unfit but manages to sneak back into Dita's line. When liberation is imminent, they are transferred to Bergen-Belsen, but the German guards flee and there is no food or water. Dita and her mother survive, but Liesl dies in hospital soon after the liberation. Dita then returns to Prague and marries Otto, who becomes a well-known novelist, and the couple eventually make a new life in Israel. Dita's account of explaining to her grandmother what had happened is one of many moving moments in a gripping and memorable book. 337pp, paperback.