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The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel Paperback – Illustrated, September 4, 2018
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#1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 International Bestseller • Now a Peacock Original Series starring Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey
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 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.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper Paperbacks
- Publication dateSeptember 4, 2018
- Dimensions5.31 x 0.65 x 8 inches
- ISBN-100062797158
- ISBN-13978-0062797155
- Lexile measureHL760L
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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 tattooist, tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.Amazon editors say...
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a beautiful and life-affirming testament to the human spirit and the enduring power of love.
Seira Wilson, Amazon EditorPopular highlight
How can a race that is spread out across multiple countries be considered a threat? For as long as he lives, be it short or long, he knows he will never comprehend this.3,210 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
“And that makes her a hero. You’re a hero, too, my darling. That the two of you have chosen to survive is a type of resistance to these Nazi bastards. Choosing to live is an act of defiance, a form of heroism.”2,736 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
“To save one is to save the world,” Lale completes the phrase. The men sink into silence for a while.811 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Review
“Based on a true story, the wrenching yet riveting tale of Lale’s determination to survive the camp with Gita is a moving testament to the power of kindness, ingenuity, and hope.”
— People
“Like the Nobel Prize-winning author Elie Wiesel’s Night, Morris’ work takes us inside the day-to-day workings of the most notorious German death camp. Over the course of three years, Morris interviewed Lale, teasing out his memories and weaving them into her heart-rending narrative of a Jew whose unlikely forced occupation as a tattooist put him in a position to act with kindness and humanity in a place where both were nearly extinct.” — BookPage
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the story of hope and survival against incredible odds and the power of love.” — Popsugar
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document. 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
“What an extraordinary and important book this is. We need as many memories of the Holocaust as we can retain, and this is a moving and ultimately uplifting story of love, loyalties and friendship amidst the horrors of war.” — International bestseller Jill Mansell
“As many interviews as I did with Holocaust survivors for the Shoah Foundation and as many devastating testimonies as I heard, I could not stop reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz—an extraordinary story of love so fierce it sustained people enduring the unimaginable. Read it, share it, remember it.” — Jenna Blum, New York Times and international bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family
“To many, this book will be most appreciated for its powerful evocation of the everyday horrors of life as a prisoner in a concentration camp, while others will be heartened by the novel’s message of how true love can transcend even the most hellishly inhuman environments. This is a perfect novel for book clubs and readers of historical fiction.” — Publishers Weekly
“This is a powerful, gut-wrenching tale that is hard to shake off.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Although one might suspect that there’s far more to his past than is revealed here, much of Lale’s story’s complexity makes it onto the page. And even though it’s clear that Lale will survive, Morris imbues the novel with remarkable suspense.”
— Booklist
From the Back Cover
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 more than 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.
About the Author
Heather Morris is a native of New Zealand, now resident in Australia. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US. In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who “might just have a story worth telling.” The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Their friendship grew and Lale embarked on a journey of self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay—which ranked high in international competitions—before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Paperbacks; Illustrated edition (September 4, 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062797158
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062797155
- Lexile measure : HL760L
- Item Weight : 8.1 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.31 x 0.65 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author
Heather Morris is a native of New Zealand, now resident in Australia. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US. In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Their friendship grew and Lale embarked on a journey of self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Lale is a Slovakian Jew who is transported and forced to work at the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He is assigned a job that puts him in a position of privilege and gives him some special treatment but also forces him to permanently mark his fellow prisoners. He has to live with this burden of guilt and others perceiving him as a Nazi collaborator but he keeps in mind that he’s doing it to survive and if not him, someone else will do the job. Now in the position of Tattooer, Lale finds ways to manipulate opportunities that arise just so he can stay alive. It’s also in this position as the Tattooer where he meets prisoner 34902, Gita. He finds ways to sneak glances at her or spend several minutes with her. Leading up to the liberation of the concentration camps, Gita and Lale are separated. We know that in the end, Gita and Lale find each other but it is the story of their meeting and living through the atrocities of the concentration camps that is the real story here. Their love that developed and finding that love in such dark places.
While this is categorized as historical fiction, it is based on a true story. It’s hard to believe that some of Lale’s experiences actually happened while he was imprisoned. It is a beautiful love story and a quick read but I felt like much of it was romanticized. Even still, it’s inspiring and serves as a reminder that you can always find hope and love in the darkest of times. I will say that I was not satisfied with the ending and I was a bit disappointed. The events leading up to it were so intense and descriptive yet the ending was anti-climactic but I suppose I cannot fault the author on that if in fact, this is how their reunion went. That said, if you’re looking for a historical novel about the events of the Holocaust, this is not for you. But if you’re looking for an inspirational story centered around hope, survival, and love, you’ve found the one.
Lale's horror is magnified when he is recruited to assist Pepan, the camp's Tätowierer. Pepan assures Lale that he can help him survive. "You want me to tattoo other men I don't think I could do that. Scar someone, hurt someone . . ." Papan convinces Lale by reminding him that if he doesn't take the job, "someone will who has less soul than you do, and he will hurt these people more." And so Lale swears to perform the job in the most compassionate way possible, given the circumstances.
Morris relates the various ways in which Lale risked his life to help others, and did indeed survive confinement in place where hope was in short order most of the time. By some, he was branded a "collaborator" but he used his ingenuity and courage to take advantage of opportunities to save as many others as possible, including the beautiful young Gita with whom he instantly falls in love. She refuses to tell him about her past, her family, where she came from, or even her last name. For Gita it is too painful and she wants to forget because when she is with Lale she is able to escape reality for a few moments. She promises to tell him on the day they leave Auschwitz, but insists they "have no future." Lale refuses to give up, telling her about his vow to survive. "We will survive and make a life where we are free to kiss when we want to, make love when we want to."
At its core, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a love story, illustrating the power of love to provide comfort and distraction through dreams of and plans for the future, inspire selfless and risky action, and sustain and inspire during the darkest hours when it appears that hope is only for the naive or unenlightened.
Remaining steadfastly committed to his vow is a challenge for Lale, of course. At times he feels nothing but despair, wondering how he is even "still breathing, when so many aren't?" Lale falls into an existence that is comfortable as compared to so many others because, as the Tätowierer, he works with a handful of other prisoners and is removed from the most inhumane conditions to which others are subjected. About that, he feels guilt, especially when he sees others die before his eyes or be brutally herded onto trucks with the knowledge that he will never see them again. Like Lale, Gita is painfully aware of the number of people who have passed through the camps because she works in the office processing paperwork.
Lale did, in fact, find Gita after the liberation of the camps, and they married in October 1945. In the camp, Gita told Lale that someday he would honor all of those lost "by staying alive, surviving this place and telling the world what happened here." And he did. "I need to be with Gita," he said. But it was her death that inspired him to at last tell his story. "He wanted it to be recorded so, in his words, 'it would never happen again.'"
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is difficult to read because of the subject matter, as well as the knowledge that it is largely based upon the actual experiences and observations of Lale, an ordinary man who, like so many others, was thrust into extraordinary and unimaginable circumstances. But therein also lies its strength. Morris relates Lale's story in a straight-forward, unrelenting manner, detailing how he was stripped of his very identity and assigned a number, along with his freedom, dignity, and possessions, and separated from his beloved family, most of whom he never saw again. Morris details, sans judgment, the things Lale did to survive, challenging readers to question what choices they might make.
Morris did not visit Auschwitz until 2018. Once there, she stood on the concrete step that led down into Crematoria #3 and apologized, on behalf of Lale, to the 1.5 million people exterminated there. "He wrongly felt it was his fault that he couldn’t save the souls who died there," Morris relates. "Lale’s motto in Auschwitz was, 'If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.' He believed you owed it to yourself and those around you to make the day the best it could be.”
Through Morris, Lale has at last, and for all time, honored those who were lost "telling the world what happened" there.