The Librarian of Auschwitz

Books are symbolic mainly because they have been banned by the Germans, yet they are there, in Auschwitz, as if to telegraph the idea that books on their own are an act of resistance. The fact that these books made it into Auschwitz is a testament to the living power that books cast on the adults and the children at the family camp. To Dita, they are the object of her love; she takes care of them with tenderness, and delights in keeping them safe and sound for the others who use them.

Books also represent the truth, and the more transgressive they are, the bigger the truth, as shown with Dita’s favorite book, The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk. Books can also be inside a person, so even if they are taken away, they still exist, as evidenced when the teachers become “living books.” Most importantly, the author demonstrates through the motif of the library and the books that exist inside and out of it, that they are givers of life and information. For Dita, while imprisoned at Auschwitz, books are her entire reason for striving to live.