The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Other prisoners never pick up a piece of wood or tile but instead walk casually around the compound on other business. His kapo is one such. How to get a job like that? Such a position would offer the best chance to find out what is going on in camp, what the plans are for Birkenau, and, more important, for him.”

Kapos were prisoners of the concentration camps who presided over other prisoners. They were often seen as turncoats by the other prisoners, betraying their fellows for personal safety and advancement. However, in an environment where one can often do nothing to save others, personal safety is paramount. What is more, Lale actually uses his eventual elevated status in the camp to help out his fellow prisoners. 

“‘Save one, save the world,’ Lale says quietly, more to himself than the others.” 

This expression is an important theme that runs through The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Lale recognizes in Victor’s charity an impulse to right the wrongs caused by the Nazis. While Victor and Yuri are complicit in building the death camps, that does not mean that they agree with the ideology of the Holocaust. Giving Lale a bit of sausage may be a small act, but it is an act of defiance and humanity in the face of great evil.

“Lale doesn’t know what he will find in the four pieces of rag that he places on his bed. He opens them gently. They contain coins and Polish zloty bills, loose diamonds, rubies and sapphires, gold and silver rings emblazoned with precious stones. Lale steps back, knocking into the door behind him. He is recoiling from the sad provenance of these objects, each one attached to a momentous event in the life of the previous owner. He is also scared for his own safety. If he is discovered with this bounty, he will be put to death.” 

The implications of possessing these jewels are manifold. As a prisoner in Auschwitz, Lale has no use for currency. Bread, clothes, and other immediate items of survival are more important. But to Victor and Yuri, on the outside, these are sources of wealth. The web of danger also increases: this transaction endangers Lale, Victor, Yuri, and, especially, the girls of Canada who smuggle them. They are also powerful reminders of the material loss suffered by victims of the Holocaust. 

“Lale and Leon have been working around the clock as the Germans storm every city, town, and village and empty them of Jews; those from France, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Italy, Moravia, Greece, and Norway join prisoners already taken from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, Poland, and Slovakia. At Auschwitz, they tattoo those unfortunate enough to be selected by the ‘medical team.’”

This passage showcases the progress of the Nazi invasion of Europe as well as a “map” of their atrocities. By stating these countries in a long list, Morris gives the reader a sense of the extent of the damage the Germans caused. The list includes conquered countries, such as France, and sympathetic countries, such as Norway and Italy, who readily sent their Jewish and Romany populations to German work and death camps. 

“‘The Germans are the cruelest bastards ever to live, but they are not entirely stupid. They have a knack for finding the right person for the right job, and I’m sure they will find work for you.’” 

Part of the purpose of the Nazi concentration camps was to extract labor from a slave workforce. For a relatively small country, Germany was highly effective during the early years of World War Two, conquering much of Europe under the Nazi banner. However, resource and labor scarcity proved a problem. In Birkenau and other work camps, prisoners were made to construct Nazi weapons of war, making up for the labor shortage Germany faced with much of its male population functioning as soldiers. If a prisoner was suited to a certain task, they would often be spared execution—for a time. This proves true for Jakub, though the role he is forced to play comes at a terrible cost. 

“‘They’re the filth of Europe, even worse than you. They’re Gypsies, and for reasons I’ll never know, the Fuhrer has decided they are to live here, with you.’” 

The entire death toll of the Holocaust numbered around 17 million people. This number includes not only the 6 million Jews, but also homosexuals, political dissidents, the elderly, the feeble, the mentally handicapped, and the Roma people, commonly referred to as Gypsies. Hatred for the Roma was pan-European, and Baretski, hailing from Romania, carries a special hatred for this ethnic group.

“Off balance, Cilka falls heavily when he pushes her over. Dropping onto his knees, he straddles her. Terrified, Cilka attempts to cover herself as he rips her shirt open. She feels the back of his hand across her face as she closes her eyes and gives in to the inevitable.” 

Violence in the concentration camps was inevitable. Women faced the additional danger of sexual violence. Cilka, described as beautiful by her friends, is one of the few women allowed to keep her hair. Because she works in administration, it’s possible that her rape indicates that Schwarzhuber kept her around for this very purpose. 

“‘Do you know what his name is?’ ‘Mengele, Herr Doktor Josef Mengele. You should remember that name, Tätowierer.’” 

In this section, Lale encounters historical figure Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele was infamous for his horrible human experimentation projects—especially on twins. His sadistic experiments were responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people. When Auschwitz was evacuated, Mengele escaped. He was taken into custody by the Allies, but he was released due to lack of identification. He fled to South America, where he lived the remainder of his life on the run from Nazi hunters. Mengele drowned while swimming. 

“Lale looks at the girls’ faces. Vacant. Silent. He notices several leaning against the wire fence. Unlike the other fences at Auschwitz and Birkenau, this one is not electrified. The option of self-destruction has been taken from them.”

Among the horrors Lale faces in this chapter, the image of the penned-up, naked young women stands out. Lale highly values women; to see them treated like this is intolerable. In the main camps of Auschwitz, the electric fence would prove fatal if touched; the fact that this is not an option here suggests that these women were to be used for (if possible) even more nefarious means. 

“After supper, Gita sits with Mrs. Goldstein, who brings her up-to-date on events back home: how, slowly, family by family, it was torn apart. Stories had filtered back about the concentration camps. No one quite knew that they had been turned into production lines of death. But they knew people were not coming back. And yet only a few had left their homes to seek a safe haven in a neighboring country.” 

Gita finally learns of the fate of her family. In the absence of communication, families separated by the Holocaust could only hope that those that they left behind remained safe. Foreign countries failed to do their part in protecting this vulnerable population. The United States, for example, denied entry to Jews seeking political asylum during the early years of German persecution. This likely culminated in the deaths of many of those asylum-seekers. 

“He sees the Sonderkommando standing by, defeated, ready to do a job no one on earth would volunteer for: removing corpses from the gas chambers and putting them into the ovens. He tries to make eye contact with them, to let them know he, too, works for the enemy. He, too, has chosen to stay alive for as long as he can, by performing an act of defilement on people of his own faith.” 

The concentration camps relied on the forced and voluntary labor of their prisoners. In addition to the kapos, the bosses of individual blocks and/or units of prisoners, some of the more degrading and inhumane functions of the Holocaust were relegated to the very people being victimized by it. Survival often involved compromising ones morals. Such was the extent to which the Nazis’ victims were dehumanized. 

“Their lovemaking is passionate, desperate. It is a need so long in the making that it cannot be denied. Two people desperate for the love and intimacy they fear they will otherwise never experience. It seals their commitment to each other. Lale knows at this moment that he can love no other.” 

When Lale and Gita finally make love for the first time, it is a life-affirming moment. Not only does it render their relationship concrete, it is also an act of defiance. It is significant that this moment comes right after Lale’s episode in the crematorium: the horrible spectacle of death is replaced by an intense love and will to live. Lale and Gita will continue to resist the Nazis in any way they can. 

“He lives in a community largely split in two—Jewish and Romany—identified by their race, not their nationality, and this is something Lale still cannot understand. Nations can threaten other nations. They have power, they have militaries. How can a race that is spread out across multiple countries be considered a threat?” 

Lale does not particularly identify as a Jew—rather, he sees himself more as a Slovakian, and even worked in politics in Slovakia. The Jewish and Romany peoples were diasporic, meaning they were spread out throughout the world, rather than living in central locations. This dispersion makes the Nazi claim that the Jews of Europe were undermining European society incredibly dubious. 

“It appears that some of the female prisoners working in an ammunition factory nearby have been smuggling tiny amounts of gunpowder back into Birkenau, pushed up into their fingernails. They have been getting it to the Sonderkommando, who have been making crude grenades out of sardine tins. They have also been stockpiling weapons, including small arms, knives, and axes.” 

The Sonderkommando, who work in the gas chambers and crematoria, are always one step from death. Damaging the crematorium, rendering it inoperable, is both a symbolic and direct way to rebel. Damaging the camp’s capacity to dispose of the bodies of its victims hampers the speed the of the genocide. Though their rebellion fails, it is symbolic of the sentiment of the prisoners at large. Hope has not left them. 

“Lale watches him leave. He knows that if they were ever to meet on a dark night on equal terms, it would be her who would walk away. Lale would have no qualms about taking this man’s life. He would have the last word.” 

Though Baretski frequently helps out Lale, it is important to remember who he is: a sadistic member of the SS, responsible directly and indirectly for the death of many innocents. Lale never forgets this fact, nor does he ever forgive Baretski. Baretski’s levity toward Leon’s probable death underscores this for Lale. 

“Lale looks at these young women and realizes there is nothing left to say. They were brought to this camp as girls, and now—not one of them having yet reached the age of twenty-one—they are broken, damaged young women. He knows they will never grow to be the women they were meant to be. Their futures have been derailed, and there will be no getting back in the same track.” 

Lale assesses the toll the time in Auschwitz has had on Gita and her friends. There will be no “normal” life for them after the camps. They will forever be marked by the trauma of their experiences. Ironically, though he assesses this change in the women, Lale fails to recognize that the same is true of him.

“Dana keeps telling Gita to go on, to leave her. Gita protests. She would rather die here with her friend, in a field, somewhere in Poland. Four young girls offer to help carry Dana. Dana will not hear of it. She tells them to take Gita and go.” 

The tragic parting scene of these two friends emphasizes both of their headstrong characters. Dana has been a true friend to Gita and Lale. She has supported Gita through thick and thin, and, past the point of exhaustion, knows that Gita will not survive if she takes her with her. Gita, equally headstrong, has to be dragged off by the four Polish girls. She will not willingly abandon a friend. 

“The guard is impressed that Lale speaks fluent German. He has heard about Auschwitz and Birkenau but has not been there, and wants to hear about it. Lale paints a picture removed from reality. Nothing can be gained from telling this German the true nature of the treatment of prisoners there. He tells him what he did and how he much preferred to work than to sit around.” 

This quote emphasizes both Lale’s politesse and the secrecy that the Holocaust was carried out in. Lale is able to adapt to nearly any situation he is put in. His interpersonal skills helped him survive Auschwitz; now, they will help him survive beyond it. The Germans attempted to hide the atrocities of the concentration camps form public view, enacting their genocide of the Jews in the shadows. It was so well-concealed that many of their own citizens did not know the fate of the Jews and other prisoners that were taken away. 

“With that, Lale undoes the string holding up his trousers, and they fall to the floor. He hooks his finger into the back of his underpants and starts to pull them down.” 

Lale is now in a prison camp that does not admit Jews. When his reputation as the tattooist of Auschwitz spreads, he is obliged to prove to the SS that he is not a Jew; he claims to be Catholic. Lale’s genitals would prove this, as circumcision is a Jewish religious practice. Luckily for Lale, the SS commander does not call his bluff. The reader is never made privy to whether or not Lale is actually circumcised. 

“Lale runs his hands over the suits and shirts in the closet, both casual and formal, and all the accessories needed to resurrect the Lale of old.” 

Maintaining one’s identity and humanity often boils down to basic creature comforts: clothes and the ability to bathe. Before Birkenau, Lale was a man who took pride in his clothing and image. Now, thanks to the Russians, he can begin to revive his old modes of self-expression. New clothing and a bath are a good start. 

“‘Look,’ says the original volunteer, ‘you can stop any woman you meet in the street. We all know what you want, and there are plenty of us who need good food and drink even if we have to share it with those ugly Russian pigs. There are no men left here to help us. We do what we have to do.’” 

The women of the small German village occupied by the Russian forces are left on their own: their men have mostly gone off to war. Consequently, they must do whatever they can to survive, even if it means selling their bodies to the Russian soldiers. Once again, the novel demonstrates the imperative of survival at all costs. 

“‘No. You’ve proven you can be trusted; the general’s very impressed with you. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and when it’s time for everyone to leave here, there might even be a little bonus for you.’” 

Here, Friedrich emphasizes one of Lale’s greatest qualities: he is able to thrive in most situations. His strong interpersonal skills endear him to many people throughout the novel, from SS guards to Russian generals. 

“The news is bleak. His parents were taken away only days after he left. Goldie has no idea where they went, or if they are still alive. Max went off to join the partisans and was killed fighting the Germans. Max’s wife and their two small boys were taken—again, she does not know where to.” 

Though Lale and other Holocaust survivors’ trials seem to have ended upon leaving the concentration camps, more pain awaits them. Lale finds his sacrifice by volunteering to go to the camp is in vain; his family has been taken anyway. Like many, many other Holocaust survivors, he is left to pick up the pieces of a life fragmented by loss and trauma.