The Tattooist of Auschwitz

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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.

Title : The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Edition Language : English
ISBN : 9780062870674
Format Type :

    The Tattooist of Auschwitz Reviews

  • Debra

    I'll never hear Yiddish again....I'll never go to the German Consulate with her again...I’m gutted reading this book. To some I have shared that my family's "MA" was in Auschwitz (everyone called he...

  • abby

    There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Holocaust fiction books in the English language alone. This is not the one to read.This kind of book is hard to rate. It's based on the true story of Lale Soko...

  • Natalie Manuel

    What a waste of an amazing story on an incapable writer. There is no 'prose', there is really just "he did this, and then he did that". No depth of emotion, no depth of characters, heck - no character...

  • Miriam Smith (A Mother?s Musings)

    Considering "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" is a harrowing true story, it was truly compelling and utterly unputdownable. It's without a doubt one of only a few books that will stay with me a very long t...

  • Emily (Books with Emily Fox)

    This is part of my Goodreads reading challenge for 2019 as the runner up in the "Historical Fiction" category.It has since been brought to my attention that this isn't historically accurate but it doe...

  • Angela M

    Right after I started reading this book there was a story on the local news about a new exhibit at the Jewish Community Center in our area. The exhibit highlights the Holocaust survivors from this are...

  • Tammy

    I recall, as a child, accompanying one or the other of my parents to our family jeweler countless times. It seemed as if some piece always needed to be repaired or purchased for one occasion or anothe...

  • Phrynne

    An interesting tale based on a true story but not really comprehensively told. I enjoyed what was there but there seemed to be so much left out.Lale was obviously a charming rogue who managed to survi...

  • Kylie D

    A unsettling but gripping novel, based on the true story of Lale, a Slovakian Jew caught up in the horrors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during WW2. He speaks several languages, so soon...

  • Marialyce

    Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love this book, it fell quite short for me. Perhaps it was the expectation I always harbor for a book about the Holocaust, or perhaps the book contained things th...