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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An amazing read that brought the realities of being a prisoner in a camp into sharp focus. I was moved by the challenges that the prisoners found and the small acts of defiance throughout reminded me that there are good people to be found in all situations.
Good book but not well written.
I LOVED this book. So the triumph over the most horrible life’s darkest moments. And to find love. Truly amazing.
One of the best books I have ever read.
This was an absolutely tremendous book!
This book just grabbed me from the beginning. It was a terrible truthful story sadly describing an awful time in our history. I really enjoyed the fact that it was based on a true story and that the author included photos of the real characters.
Since beginning social distancing, I’ve been diving into my massive TBR list containing books that I’ve had waiting for months upon months. First up, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. It’s the memoir of Ludwig “Lali” Sokolov nee Eisenberg, called Lale in the book, and he was once the tattooer of Auschwitz.
In April of 1942, Lale arrived in Auschwitz-Berkinau. Due to his wit and talent for languages, he was soon made the tattooist’s apprentice, then the tattooist himself. He was put in the dangerous and prestigious position of tattooing the numbers on the arm of everyone who entered the camp. He had to be a cog in the Nazi machine, but was also able to help save a few lives.
His tattooing bag is a free pass through the camp, a sign of his status as an essential worker. He’s able to speak with guards, meet the workers from the nearby village who are building the crematoriums, and barter for food with goods slipped from the warehouse used to store and sort the stolen possessions of the prisoners. But Lale uses the most of his influence to keep someone special alive.
He first notices Gita’s dark eyes, and soon he’s smitten with the young woman in a way he can’t explain. He begs and steals, cutting deals to get her a job in the administration office where at least she’ll be warm in the long winter months. He trades hidden gems for chocolate with the village workers for her, and does everything in his power to make sure that when they’re free, they’ll have a future together. But first, they have to survive.
In college, I studied the Holocaust in depth, reading memoirs, taking classes, and taking advantage of my school’s Holocaust Resource Center where survivors would often come to speak. Overall, I found the memoir to be both heart wrenching, and a good lesson in humanizing what happened and how it changed the world. It’s easy to look at numbers in a text book and skim over the labels of Jew and Gypsy without really internalizing what those numbers truly mean. Lali wasn’t a number, nor were any of the other victims.
I wrote many papers on that part of history in my genocidal studies program, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dr. Mengele in particular. I found some inconsistencies in how Morris portrayed Mengele and his experiments, fabricating some parts perhaps for shock value, although what he did was so terrible without the additional attractions, I didn’t see the reason for them. There were other inconsistencies highlighted by the Auschwitz Memorial Research Center, but I won’t go into because after all is said and done, this isn’t a history book, it’s a memoir based on the extraordinary life of one man.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and the story it told, even with the inaccuracies and simple phrasings. Memories, like memoirs, are tricky things, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the story of Lali Sokolov.
hard to put down.
This book was highly recommended by a friend. It seemed to stretch the reality of the time, some incidents just didn’t seem believable. The writing was simplistic.
This book was written so vividly as a reader you could see and feel what the characters were going through. A hard read, but worth it.
Worth the read. ‘Never Again”
I would give this book 6 stars.
However the stars are not working.
Excellent book.
Wonderful information l
A love story that happens to take place at Auschwitz (rather than a holocaust story that happens to have a romance). Lale’s story, and that of his love, Gita, is full of action and some almost miraculous coincidences, where the couple rescue each other from death. The book is a quick read, a different take on the Nazi work camps (because of Lale’s status as tattooist), and it seems more like nonfiction than fiction. I was left with a question about Gita’s background, though: why wouldn’t she tell Lale about her past? And when will the reader find out about it?
Interesting survival story during the Holocaust as a couple struggle for survival
*4 Stars*
I had heard so much about this book, I was glad to finally get my hands on it, and read this intriguing story. Whilst I didn’t really connect with the characters, I still found that this was a story I really couldn’t wait to get to the end of, and to find out what happened to these people.
The horrors of the concentration camps, whilst outline in this book, thankfully weren’t delved into in too much detail. Enough that we knew what was happening, but not right down to the last little detail.
I really don’t know what to say about this one, other than the fact that whilst this isn’t the normal writing style I prefer to read, I did like this book, and felt that it was very interesting to read this story. Lale and Gita are just two people who dealt with these horrors, but it was a story that had me intrigued from the start.
It’s a struggle to write this review, because how do you write a review for a book you’ve rated well, but that is about such a horrible time in history? I think if you’re interested in reading this you should definitely give it a go. I would also like to read the follow up story in the future.
Will carry this inside forever
Just when you thought you’ve thought or read of most angles of Life in a concentration camp during WWII comes the tattooist. This is the tale of a survivor and thus tells his tale with many of its actual horrors. A fantastic read!!!
Couldn’t but this book down, hard facts about the Great War.
Amazing that this couple survived and found each other after the war!
I enjoyed this book, even though it was heart breaking. Some may not enjoy it, but it is terrible to know what the poor Jews went through, during this period of history. It is a book that will hold your interest, to the end.