A Delayed Life

The poignant and powerful memoir of Dita Kraus, the actual Librarian of Auschwitz, offers a deeply moving account of her life experiences. Born in 1929 in Prague to a Jewish family, Dita witnessed some of the most volatile eras of the 20th and early 21st centuries. She shares, with remarkable clarity, the sorrows and small joys of a life profoundly affected by the Holocaust. Dita recounts her early years and childhood friendships in pre-war Prague, the grim reality of the Nazi occupation that led her and her family to the Jewish ghetto in Terezín, and the intense fear and courage she experienced during her time in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Her narrative continues with the story of her life after liberation. Dita courageously details the harsh realities of camp life and her unique responsibility as the caretaker of smuggled books cherished by her fellow prisoners. Her story extends beyond the Holocaust, as she describes rebuilding her life post-war. She reflects on her marriage to fellow survivor Otto B Kraus, starting anew in Israel, and the bittersweet experiences of motherhood.