Dita Kraus is a Holocaust survivor and the real-life Librarian of Auschwitz— the inspiration behind the book of the same name by Antonio Iturbe. As a young girl, she was entrusted with books that Auschwitz prisoners had managed to smuggle into the camp. Dita now lives in Israel, where she paints flowers and enjoys the company of her son, her four grandchildren, and her four great-grandchildren.
Visit her online at ditakraus.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Introduction: Why Did I Call It a Delayed Life?
PART I: 1929–1942
1. Childhood
2. Anita
3. Gerta
4. Grandfather
5. The Operation
6. Žďár
7. Maturing
8. Ludvík and Manya
9. Fear
PART II: 1942–1945
The War Years
10. Terezín
11. Auschwitz–Birkenau, Camp BIIb
12. Latrine
13. Life in the Camp
14. Hamburg
15. Air Raids
16. My Italian Boyfriend
17. Neugraben
18. Tiefstack
19. Bergen-Belsen, Close to Starvation
20. Liberation
21. Bubi
22. After the Liberation
23. Grave
24. Return to Prague
PART III: 1945–21ST CENTURY
25. First Weeks in Prague
26. Meeting Otto
27. Mausi
29. The Wedding
30. The Kraus Factory
31. A New Political Reality
32. Journey to Israel
33. In the Village
34. Givat Chaim
35. My Career as a Cobbler
36. Dining Room
37. A New Job for Otto
38. Locusts
39. Hadassim
40. Rosh Pina
41. About Friends
42. Later Years
43. Otto’s Writings
44. At the Imperial Museum
45. Trips and Returns: Journey to Japan
46. A Nostalgic Journey
47. Peter/Shimon
48. Ronny
49. Michaela
50. Stolperstein
51. Where Do I Feel at Home?
52. I Need Not Delay Anymore
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by Dita Kraus
A Feiwel and Friends Book
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019949140
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First hardcover edition 2020
First American edition 2020
eBook edition February 2020
eISBN 9781250760906