The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

Ackerman devotes this chapter to the story of Maurycy Fraenkel, a classical musician and dear friend of Magdalena. Maurycy is a deeply agreeable person who always does what he is told. As a result, he moves into the Warsaw Ghetto as soon as the order comes to do so. Faced with the horrors of life in the Ghetto, he attempts suicide, but the poison he takes is old and has lost its efficacy. Unable to escape through death, he decides to escape in another way. Knowing that Magdalena stays at the villa, he asks if he can come there. Maurycy sits daily with Antonina, who is still confined to her bed. At one point, he emerges from a closet after the housekeeper leaves her room and sits beside her, only to have the housekeeper suddenly return. Maurycy pretends to be her doctor, convincing the housekeeper that he has been there the whole time without her noticing. To give Maurycy legitimacy, the fox man hires him to do the paperwork for the fur farm. This allows for the creation of false papers for Maurycy, who becomes a regular part of the villa family.