The #1 International Bestseller & New York Times Bestseller
This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity.
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior … Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
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So compelling I read it two times before returning it to the library.
Morris’s book so reminded me of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning—a book that changed my life. This important work adds and build’s on Frankl’s themes. That no matter the horrors, no matter how little control we have, in our mind, we are in charge of our destiny. What a lesson! What a story!
Gloria Squitiro: Author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery—YOU, Too! can OVERCOME ANXIETY and live a bigger more carefree life—Become a New and Better You!
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I received this novel when a passenger on my flight finished the book and suggested I read it. I was mesmerized by the characters and prose. It was so gripping that I occasionally had to take breaks, to ground myself in the present moment. It had all the elements of an unforgettable book; it was jarring, enticing, thought-provoking and profoundly moving. I’m so thankful a random traveler decided to share this book with her flight attendant!
Awesome book about love inside Auschwitz extermination camp. Based on a true story
If you’re looking for a phenomenal read, this is the book. The brutal reality of the people who survived this tragic time makes their story hard to put down.
Excellent book and gives a look at the horrible actions that took place.
This is a great book. If you like to read about the Holocaust this is a must read. This is an historical fiction story of a real man who became the tatooist at Auschwitz once he was transported there. His trials, dreams, goals, the love of his life. He survives the horror of the Holocaust and brings to life all those within the walls of Auschwitz. The author actually interviews Lale, the man behind the story, and many of the characters are actual people. Many of the events are real. A very emotional story.
Tragic but a great read. Wonderful character.
Character and integrity I’m not sure many possess. Such an unimaginable time in out lives and how to find the strength to come out alive is inspirational
This is a magnificent story of self-sacrifice, determination, and love. A work of fiction, this well-researched book is based on real people and events.
omeone mentioned to me that they had read and loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. I ordered it, but just never got around to reading it. I then found out Part 2 was available, so I read them back to back. It was not until I read the epilogue of Part 1 that I learned it was based on a true story. You certainly do look at a story a bit differently after that. While reading, I was not impressed with the writing in the least. I did struggle with the rating after learning that it was based on reality, however, I decided to separate the story from the telling of the story. I’m okay with not giving it the 5 stars everyone else has. If I were rating the stories on their own, they would easily be a 10. Here are my thoughts on both books:
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (3 Stars)
As mentioned, I felt so bad giving this only 3 stars, but it fell flat. The story itself is unbelievable and amazing, but the author didn’t convey that to the reader. You see, it is based on reality. I am so glad that Lale and Gita found each other afterwards and lived a wonderful life together. It’s a beautiful and haunting story that should be out there for everyone to read, yet somehow I just didn’t feel it was written with feeling. I never really knew what Lale was like, and Gita was just a minor character. I think there are other books out there that are better at portraying some of the raw emotions these people must have felt. This is a story that should be read, but make it one of the many books you read. It felt very flat and sanitized.
Cilka’s Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2) by Heather Morris (3 Stars)
Part 2 was also a disappointment. The story follows Cilka from the first book. Her story is amazing and Cilka is an incredible person, but again the telling of the story fell flat. The language is stilted, there is no depth to any of the characters and some parts are repetitive. The biggest letdown was that I never discovered what Cilka was thinking or feeling. Even in her despair, I never felt her pain. Cilka’s story is remarkable and her life unimaginable, but the author was just always right on the edge of letting you in.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of Cilka’s Journey in return for an honest review.
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I don’t read a lot of historical (romance) books that are set in the WW2, because I am just a too emotional person and the stories are 100% of the time so heartbreaking. However, sometimes the stories are calling me to read them and not forget what happened to millions of peoples back then. After reading the blurb of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and learned that it was based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz, I knew I wanted to know their story. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet my expectations. I was expecting a very passionate and somewhat epic love story, but in my opinion the story was too short and rushed for me to feel this. So much was packed into the last 10% of the book that it just didn’t do justice to Lale and Gita’s love. These two go through such horrific things and find good in a place that is so evil. They were meant to be together, and I am really happy that Heather could write this book so that others can read about their journey.
The author doesn’t go into depth in regards to the war. It is really focused on two characters and what they go through in Auschwitz. However, I think there was so much more to tell about how their relationship developed. That was just a major thing that I was missing from the story. I wanted more. I needed to know more. Especially Gita was a mystery to me, but Lale is the one who told the story so we don’t know what was going on inside Gita’s mind. I am still glad that there were a couple of scenes told from her POV. Regardless of my rating, I still recommend people to read this book. Because besides the love story there is also story of hope, friendship, and not giving up. I am very happy that Lale and Gita survived, otherwise this book would’ve been even more difficult for me to read.
This is a very moving book about the lives of Lale and Gita, prisoners of Auschwitz, who fall in love while there. What makes this story so profound is that it is true. The horrors of Auschwitz come to life in this book. I could feel the pain and the horror but most of all, the love. It is so well written that I could not put it down. The pages keep turning and you are a part of the story. I was transported to Auschwitz. I was moved by the love. This is an amazing read and should be read by all to honor the lives and love of Lale and Gita. Two people who found each other in the unlikeliest of places.
Beautiful story!
The writing was fabulous. The characters were so engrossing that I could not put the book down. It was our book club read and our discussion of the book lasted the entire hour! Well worth your time.
An endearing but horrific story.
As with any Holocaust novel, there is no real “happy” ending. There is a “better than it could’ve been”, but there were no happy endings.
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz” is a compelling novel by Heather Morris, who has a somewhat “sequel” coming out in October 2019 – “Cilka’s Journey”. Cilka is introduced in this novel as one of Lale’s tattoo jobs. Part of her story is told here.
This book does have some strong language in it, and Morris did take some creative liberties with certain things.
Lale Sokolov, born Ludwig Eisenberg in 1916 in Slovakia was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau April 1942 as prisoner #32407. He is first assigned as a laborer for the expanding camp. After serving Typhoid, he was assigned as an assistant to the camp’s Tätowierer (German for tattooist), Pepan.
In July 1942, he is responsible for tattooing a group of women which doesn’t sit well with him; still he has to do it. Prisoner #34902 (there is some dispute about the number as she had it removed in her 60’s). He knows only her first name – Gita.
After Pepan goes “missing”, Lale is put into the position. It is also because he speaks several languages – Slovakian, German, Russian, French, Hungarian and a bit of Polish.
From there, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” not only recounts the horrors of the camp, what the Nazis do there – but Lale soon falls in love with Gita.
Lale’s position means extra rations and less monitoring, he is able to barter with local villagers for items and some of the prisoners are able to trade him cash/gifts which he used to “pay” for the items. At one he is caught and sent to the penal unit which he wasn’t expected to escape from. Yet he did and was sent back to his former job as tätowierer.
After three years at the camp, and prior to the liberation of the camps, Lale is transferred to Mauthausen in Austria. After escaping, he is captured by a Russian army and forced to work with them for several weeks before he escapes them and makes his way to Bratislava.
He then, by chance, is reunited with Gita. It is there he changes his last name to the Russian last name of his sister (Sokolov) which is more acceptable in Slovakia, now controlled by the Russians.
His story didn’t end there – they married in October 1945 and started a textile business which was successful, but later arrested due to his support of Israel. After a two year prison term, Lale and Gita then head traversed Europe, and are unable to find employment. Eventually they board a ship to Sydney and finally settle in Melbourne where they have a son, Gary.
At the age of 78, Gita passed in October 2003.
It is after her death that Lale wants his story told, and Morris is chosen to write it. Lale didn’t want to be viewed as a collaborator, which is what happened to some Jewish people who worked with the Nazis, if only for survival. After Gita died, he wanted the story told. Cilka’s fate is also mentioned here in the “Insights” part. However that doesn’t stop my interest in her story or the book.
Since this originally existed as a screenplay (script) and is the author’s debut novel, Morris does a pretty decent turn at telling Lale’s story which he wanted told. Lale died three years and 28 days after Gita. Some will be put off by the author’s writing style which is unconventional.
This is an incredible story that left me speechless. It was powerful, poignant, so devastating, heart-breaking, yet in a weird way inspiring. It’s one of those books that you have to be in the mindset to want to read.
This book was interesting, its based on true events and that just makes it very, very sad. I hate to use the word “lucky” but young Lale and his girl Gita were to survive all that went on in the camp and to make a life for themselves together after. The human spirit is amazing. Haunting is a good word to describe this book.
Absolutely addictive and inspiring.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel (book 1) by Heather Morris
Based on the powerful true story of love and survival
Harper Audio
Historical fiction
September 2018
Rating: 4/5
8/12/19-8/14/19
This book has been on my TBR list but when I received an ARC of Cilka’s Journey, I moved this to the top. This is an incredible story based on the personal life events of a survivor. It is a unique and unusual view of survival with people “doing what we have to do to live.”
Lale Sokolov was a 24 yo Slovakian Jew who chose to be taken to Auschwitz-Birkena to work on the Nazi concentration camp. He wants to protect his older brother Max who is married with 2 children. Because Lale speaks several languages he becomes valuable as a prisoner to facilitate communication between officers and prisoners. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that he must do whatever he can to survive even when that puts him in a position of “helping” the enemy. When he becomes a tattooist imprinting numbers on his fellow prisoners, he was allowed certain “privileges” for his work.
To save one is to save all.
Lale risks his safety to help other prisoners through a network developed where he would receive jewels and money from murdered Jews. He would trade them for supplies and food to care for the others suffering from starvation as the 2 “meals” a day were less than adequate. Many prisoners including Lale become sick with typhus. It took unbelievable bravery and compassion to witness the atrocious and barbaric treatment of the people forced to worked in the camps.
It was one day when Lale had to tattoo a young fearful woman, Gita, that he finds a reason to live. The two develop a relationship which sustains and empowers them to survive. Many of the people form bonds which enable them to protect each other with the hopes of being released from the camps.
This story was based on a true story of a man known as the Tattooist of Auschwitz. It’s not a spoiler to reveal that he survives otherwise his story would never have been told. There are many books about WWII and the survivors of the concentration camps. This is a unique story from the view of a prisoner struggling to survive while endangering himself to help others to survive as well.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2929856576
https://bookwormreviewblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-tattooist-of-auschwitz-by-heather.html?m=1