Lale Sokolov is a Slovak Jew, being transported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau
concentration camp by the Nazis. World War II is raging, and Jews all
over Europe are paying the price. Lale is one of many Jews being loaded onto a
cattle car to be transported like animals to the camp. Upon arriving, the
prisoners have their heads shaven, and their clothes and belongings taken and
replaced with a Russian soldier's uniform. They also have a number
tattooed on their left arm.
Lale's number is 32407.
German officials discover that Lale can speak many different
languages -- German, Yiddish, Russian, and more. This skill earns Lale a job as
the Tätowierer (the
person who tattoos the other prisoners), because he can communicate easily with
prisoners of multiple backgrounds.
At first, Lale is an assistant to the previous Tätowierer,
Pepan. Later, when Pepan is taken away, Lale becomes the Tätowierer,
eventually taking on his own assistant. One day, Lale is tasked with the
job of tattooing a large group of young women who have just arrived. He has
trained himself to not look up while working, because looking up at the
people's faces just makes his job harder. He does not want to see the faces of
the people he is marking. With one person, however, he can't help but look up.
This young woman's name is Gita, and Lale can't help but fall in love with her
on sight. At the very moment he looks into her eyes, he promises himself that
they will survive the camps, get married, and be free together.
Gita's number is 34902.
For the next two years, Lale does whatever he can to keep
himself and Gita alive; he smuggles food, medicine, and even makes off with
jewels and currency from the coats of newly arrived prisoners (which he can
exchange for valuable and important supplies). He takes care of Gita, and uses
his special privileges and extra rations given to him as Tätowierer to
help as many of his fellow prisoners as possible. All the while, he marks
his own people. and he holds onto his hope that he and Gita will survive.
Lale and Gita were real people. Their
story is a love story, wrapped inside a horror story. They witnessed many
acts of pure hatred and violence. And yet, when Lale met Gita, despite all the
horrors that surrounded them, in his own words: "I tattooed her number on
her left hand, and she tattooed her number on my heart."
This book is good for history lovers, but I would not
recommend this book for anyone under 12 years old. In addition to talking about
the war, it is a very violent book, and contains discussion of both mass
murder and rape.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a sentimental
true story of love and hope trying to survive in a world of hate.
---------------------------------
Daddy's afterthoughts: At B&N, Goodreads, Waterstones,
and Amazon, this book consistently racks up extremely high
reviews, averaging well over 4 stars out of 5 on all four sites. I will be
stunned if this is not made into a movie within 2 years. This book is gripping
and, I know it is a cliche, but you will not want to put it down.
As Julia said, it is a true story, related to author Heather Morris by Lale Sokolov himself. Lale died in 2006. If you want to find out what happened to Gita, you'll have to read the book.
I can sum up everything I have to say about this devastating
book in three lines from the book that effectively capture the swirl of
emotions this book generates:
"I'm just a number. You should know that. You gave it to me."
"Yes, but that's just in here. Who are you outside of here?"
"Outside doesn't exist anymore. There's only here."
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