The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

“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 Tatowierer (the German work 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.”

I definitely had to take my time with reading this book. There were so many sections where it was so descriptive, it was like you were there. Heather Morris did a wonderful job of creating a feeling of awareness and making the reader feel like they were really in Auschwitz with the Jewish and Gypsy people. I have always been curious how people were able to do this kind of act towards other people. I understand that some were only following orders or doing what they could to survive. Lale was one of those, that even though tattooing the numbers on his fellow Jews, he knew that if he did not do it, someone else would. Someone who would not be so kind to them. He did not even realize that by doing this, he would meet the love of his life, Gita. I was glad to read that there were some citizens who worked at the camp who did try to help the Jews by giving them food. They did this even though they knew that they could possibly be put to death.

Although this book was hard to read at times, it was still an interesting read. It was interesting learning more about what actually happened behind the scenes of Auschwitz. It is very devastating that all of this happened. It definitely shows that the prisoners had hope and motivation in order to survive the camp. Some never lost the hope of getting out, while others lost hope right away. Luckily, there were those people, like Lale, who tried to keep up the spirit of his fellow prisoners and tried getting them to believe that they would be able to survive this awful place.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes World War 2 books. It was a good read, and I could have probably finished it faster, but I had to pace myself with how graphic and descriptive some of the passages were. I would find myself with teary eyes and a broken heart for those who were affected by this. My husband even made a comment that I should probably read something different for my next book. Looks like it will be something more on the fiction trail next!