The Zookeeper's Wife Movie Study Guide

The Zookeeper's Wife is the poignant story of a couple, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who hid 300 Jews in their zoo during the Holocaust. The film can serve as an excellent springboard into diving deeper into the Holocaust. Plus, it has valuable themes and character building lessons, such as courage and doing the right thing. Here is a movie study designed for high school students.

There are 19 pages included in this study, including an answer key.

COMPREHENSION

• Pre-Viewing Questions
• Discussion Questions (2 ways - one list and one space for students to write)
• Traits of the Zabinskis

LEARNING

• Holocaust Vocabulary
• Jan and Antonina: The True Story (with quiz)
• Janusz Korczak and More Polish Heroes During the Holocaust
• The Warsaw Ghetto Paragraph + Questions
• Poland during WWII (paragraph)
• Poland
• Righteous Among the Nations

ACTIVITIES

• "First They Came" Poem Analysis
• Pros and Cons of Resistance
• Lessons Learned
• Courage from the Bible (With a biblical theme. This page can be omitted for a secular study.)
• Extended Resources

Note: There are many similar pages in The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler movie study.