The Librarian of Auschwitz(122)

Increasingly, other testimonies contradict the suicide theory that can be found in the official profiles of Hirsch. Michael Honey, a family camp survivor who worked as an errand boy for the medical team, casts doubt on Rosenberg’s testimony in his memoir when he speaks of what happened on March 8, 1944: “He was given an overdose of Luminal when he asked for a pill because of a headache.”

I hope this book also serves as a vindication of the figure of Fredy Hirsch, somewhat tarnished by the false idea that he voluntarily took his own life. As a result of this notion, his integrity in decisive moments has been questioned. Fredy Hirsch did not commit suicide. He would never have abandoned his children. He was a captain; he would have gone down with his ship. This is how he should be remembered: as a fighter of extraordinary valor.

And, naturally, this book is a homage to Dita, from whom I have learned so much.

The librarian of Block 31 continues to live in Netanya and travels to spend a few weeks each year in her tiny apartment in Prague. And she’ll keep doing it as long as her health allows. She is still a woman of unimaginable curiosity, astuteness, kindness, and integrity. Until now, I hadn’t believed in heroes, but I now know they exist: Dita is one of them.