[11] Zookeepers Jan and Antonina Żabiński, responsible for saving hundreds of Jews within the zoo premises, were eventually granted the title of Righteous Among the Nations for their contribution, effort and good will.

These events were documented in the novel The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman and in the 2017 war drama film starring Jessica Chastain.

King John III Sobieski kept a court menagerie in Wilanów, and the 19th century saw several private zoos opened in the city.

[12] Animals resident at the zoo when it opened included lions, tigers, and a female Indian elephant named Kasia.

During World War II, Jan Żabiński, the director, together with his wife Antonina and their son Ryszard, saved more than 300 Jews from the Holocaust.

[2][27] In 2007, an American writer Diane Ackerman published her non-fiction biography titled The Zookeeper's Wife, which tells the story of the Żabiński family's activities during World War II, drawing upon Antonina Żabińska's diary.