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The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz

By: Heather Morris
Narrated by: Richard Armitage
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About this listen

Heart-breaking - a tale of love and survival amidst the horrors of Auschwitz
Human - the real story behind one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust - the blue numbers tattooed on prisoners' arms
Inspirational - the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances
Unforgettable - a story untold for over seventy years is finally shared
Life-affirming - one man's determination to survive and live a full life with the woman he loved
Fully verified - Lale Sokolov's background and story has been fact-checked against all available documentary evidence

The Story

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz. When Lale, given the job of tattooing the prisoners, saw Gita waiting in line, it was love at first sight. In that moment he determined to keep them both alive. This is a story of hope and of courage.

©2018 Heather Morris (P)2018 Bonnier Books UK 20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Jewish Literary Fiction War & Military World Literature Survival
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what a beautifully written book. the author should be very proud. I am very grateful too have listened too and own this book. thank you so much

one of the most moving books I've ever listened to

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Having always had an interest in biographies and real life stories from the war, this has to be one of my favourite listens so far. A fascinating story where the writer does a great job of describing enough to inform but not over indulge. All I can say is a massive thank you for sharing this story, highly recommended listen to anyone interested in the darkest history of the war.

A true survivor

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This is a great book based movingly on a true story of resilience during the darkest hours of world history. This is the story of how love can grow in the darkest of places how two people can find something meaningful in a place where there is no hope. Lale and Gita meet in Auschwitz and against the odds keep their love alive whilst death prevails around them meeting again once the camp is liberated back in their homeland. I went onto read more about them on the internet and found how they eventually married had a family and moved to Australia. I also read how Lale did not want to talk about his role as Tattooist as he did not want to be seen as a collaborator. It is clear the way the author has carefully researched this book and got to know him in later life he was a deeply caring human being who helped countless others to survive a terrible place. This book is beautifully written and in some ways I wish I had read rather than listened to it. My only criticism was some of the narration which was a little out of place particularly some of the accents given to the german camp workers which bordered on northern British rather than German this was a little off putting. But this should not take away from a moving thought provoking book.

Moving true story of the power of love

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What did you like most about The Tattooist of Auschwitz?

An unusual perspective on the camps - the Jew forced to tattoo other Jews and become a collaborator of sorts, but still able to fight back.

What other book might you compare The Tattooist of Auschwitz to, and why?

Schindler's Ark immediately sprang to mind, but there are many other stories set in concentration camps that stirred in my memory as I listened to this.

What does Richard Armitage bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He voiced Lale and Gita very well, which was a little surprising as his likeable but very Yorkshire brogue would not have been my first choice to portray Slovakians.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The epilogue! The 'after Auschwitz' and telling of how Lale came to tell his story had me in tears when the main story did not.

Any additional comments?

Grim and distressing yet it shows, like Schindler, the power of humanity's bravery and compassion.

A true story, one I'd never come across, of the Holocaust. When you've read and seen films growing up, you think you aren't going to meet something new about the concentration camps. Here's a story that I hadn't considered - that of the Jew forced to tattoo his fellow camp labourers with their numbers.

Lale Sokolov vows to survive his ordeal by any means he can. While this might mean for some a clinging to life by treading over others, Lale uses his small advantages to help others. He also falls deeply in love with another camp inmate, Gita.

I accessed this book as an audiobook, and found this a very appropriate medium for the story, listening to Lale's voice through his history. Knowing that the two main characters in it are real takes a little of the tension out of the book, though the ordeal of the pair and their acquaintances and families are still painful, knowing that these are real events. The fact that Lale is in a privileged position, talking regularly with some of those in positions of power is quite chilling. And though you know Lale lives through it, I still found the constant threat a little frightening.

The story takes us out of the War by the end, and we get to hear of Lale and Gita's experiences and lives after Auschwitz, which moved me to tears listening to their later lives and how they chose to move on from such horrors.

Personal stories are a powerful way to view stories of the Holocaust. This story comes via Lale through a writer telling us his story, and the slight emotional detachment of the third person makes it more bearable. Lale's thoughts are clearly stated throughout, the scene set and made quite visual.

Narrated well on Audible, the voices of both Lale and Gita are plausible as given life by the one voice, and I would recommend this medium for the novel.

With thanks to Nudge Books for the sample copy, provided for review purposes.

Distressing but shows humanity's bravery

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Before starting this book i knew that it was going to be a tough one, I was not silly enough to think that it was going to be a fluffy romance, but ahh this book!!

I also did not know that it was based on a true story, i know obviously Auschwitz is true, but this is also the true story about Lale Sokolov and his "romance story" with the love of his life Gita.

The horror that one man can endure and feel has been put into this book and is sometimes overwhelming, and that is a good thing, it should never be forgotten what happened in these camps, it should never be forgotten what these people went through.

Lale was taken to Auschwitz in 1942 he was 26 years old.

He offered his services when the Nazi's came to his town, he was told that one member had to go and help them and the rest of the family would be saved, Lale stepped up to the mark, his older brother had a wife and a child so he thought that it would be best for him to stay and look after her.

At that time he and the rest of the world were unaware of the horrors that he would see and endure, he just thought he was helping his family!

On arrival he was stripped of his name and given the number 32407 which was tattooed onto his arm, along with the thousands of other arrivals.

He was set to work, firstly lugging bricks, and then on the rooftops of the new buildings of the ever extending camp.

One day he got really sick with typhiod, a desease that was swarming through the camps, a man took care of him, his name was Pepan.

Pepan was the man that had Tattooed him on the day that he arrived at the camp, after that Pepan took him under his wing and used him as an apprentice, he taught him the trade and also how to keep his head down and his mouth shut!

One day Pepan disappeared, so Lale was crowned the new "Tetovierer" (Camp Tattooist) - Lalel never saw Pepan again.

Because Lale was fluent in 5 or 6 languages he learned to hover around and collect information, and because of his new job he was given preferential treatment, he was given better lodgings and extra helpings at dinner, which Lale saved and gave out to his friends in Block 29 where he was first stationed.

While he was tattooing new prisnners one day he met Gita, he tattooed her arm with the number 34902, he never forgot that number, they tried to meet each other and sometimes managed fleeting glances and stolen kisses, much to the dismay of his German Officer in charge of him, his extra rations soon started to go to her.

He also managed to gain gems and money from dealings with some of the other prisoners, so he started exchanging these for extra food, this was like currency in the camps and Lale soon became the man to go to for anything.

There are, as you would think, a lot of harrowing stories inside this book, but also a lot of love.

My heart was in my mouth a few times, especially with Josef Mengele hovering around and telling him that he will be next!

The Authors Notes, and Following at the end of the book is beautiful and the Afterward from Lale and Gita's son Gary made me tear up.

🎧🎧 - Narration by Richard Armitage was outstanding, his accents were wonderful and his voice was just perfect for this story.

Save a credit for this one guys, it is well worth it.

Prepare yourself

Vicci

P.S - I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz a couple of years ago, and it was truly the most strange place i have ever been, it is still as grim as it is portrayed in books and pictures, and the government and workers there have done well to keep it as it should be, a museum that portrays the horrors that went on there.

They haven't "Disneyfied" it, and they are very respectful.

You cannot just go and walk around chatting, you have a guide and you go around in small groups, you have earphones on and the guide talks into a microphone so you don't hear anyone else talking.

Krakow itself is beautiful, and seeped in history and well worth a visit.

We should never forget!

V Nerd

4.5 Heartbreakingly Beautiful Stars

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