Secret of the Village Fool

Milek and his brother, Munio, live in a sleepy village in Poland, where nothing exciting seems to happen. They have a kind and gentle neighbour named Anton, but the people of the village laugh at Anton and call him the village fool because he talks to animals and only eats vegetables. When the war brings Nazi soldiers to town, life changes. The Nazis begin rounding up Jewish boys like Milek and Munio. Anton worries about them and comes up with a plan to hide the whole family in his own home, putting his life at risk without a thought. Based on a true story. The back of the book outlines what happened to Anton and the others after the war, and includes photographs. Anton was honoured both by Poland and by the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, where he was named one of the Righteous Among the Nations.