The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a 2018 Historical Fiction by the author Heather Morris.

Lale Sokolov is taken prisoner and taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Lale is forced to adjust to his new life while witnessing horrific acts of crime every day. He sees his fellow prisoners get shot for no reason, mass murdered in gas chambers, and worked beyond their physical capabilities. When the current tattooist of the camp takes interest in him and takes him under his wings, Lale at the very least avoids the horrific fates like that of his fellow prisoners.

While tattooing batches after batches of newly arrived prisoners, Lale meets a beautiful woman named Gita and falls in love. Using his charm, his relationships with the guards, and his few privileges as the tattooist, he strives to protect Gita. Together, they dream of getting out of Auschwitz alive and spending their lives together.

How did it make me feel?

As with every Holocaust story, it was difficult to get through the parts describing the condition of the people living inside the camps. The unimaginable horrors, the diabolical acts of the Nazi soldiers, the glimmer of hope against every odds, and the generosity of the prisoners towards one another, getting through such tales was devastatingly heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.

However, when it comes to storytelling, I didn’t like The Tattooist of Auschwitz as much as I expected to. The author claims that it is based on a true story. But there were instances in the book where it seemed like many pieces of information were missing, inconsistent, or misplaced. This confused me a lot and had me question the authenticity of the events as well as the characters.

How and Why? 

** May contain spoilers

For instance, when Lale first tattoos Gita’s hands, her prisoner number is 4562. It is indicated that Lale only knows the girl he loves by the number 4562, multiple times. However, from the point where he sends her his first letter, she is referenced as prisoner 34902. No explanation whatsoever on how her prisoner number changed. By the way, 4562 is what was tattooed in real life Gita’s hand as verified by her son.

Next, I was craving more information on how Lale was getting comparatively more privileges for being a Tattooist. What was the significance of being a Tattooist and why were they treated differently from others in the camp? Lale was getting extra rations, a single room. He could save a fellow prisoner from the difficult job by putting in his words, his casual relationships with SS guards where he could send love letters to his girlfriend in their hands.

The Characters dilemma

This brings me to Barteski’s character. Barteski is a young SS guard who is this bitter and scary man, ever ready to torture or kill the prisoners at the slightest inconvenience. Yet he acts as a messenger between Lale and Gita, carrying letters and messages back and forth.

What saddens me most is the fact that this is a real love story yet the emotions don’t come through as strongly as they could. Firstly, for some reason, the protagonist’s name is changed from his real name Lali to Lale. I don’t understand why. Clearly, it was not intended to give them fake names because Gita Furman is Gita’s real name.

At some point in the story, there is a football match between the prisoners and the guards. I don’t know if it’s the way it was set up in the story, the writing, or whatnot but it just seemed absurd, to say the least. Also, I couldn’t see how it impacted this story.

Anyways, if nothing else it’s always a wonderful feeling to know that two people met under the worst possible circumstances and made it work to last the rest of their lives.

Have you read The Tattooist of Auschwitz yet? Let me know what you thought about it!