'Tatooist' tells of love in concentration camp

By Jin Yu-young

Based on true events, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” tells the story of Lale Sokolov and how he survived the horrors of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland during the Holocaust in the 1940s.

The author, Heather Morris, got to know Sokolov through a mutual acquaintance and met with him for three years to listen and piece together his narrative.

The book was recently translated into Korean by Park Ah-ram.

“The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris

Conditions in the camp were horrible beyond imagination.

Prisoners who died of starvation or illness were discarded by the truckload, and arbitrary shootings by the guards were commonplace.

“If you [woke] up in the morning, it [was] a good day,” says Sokolov, who describes survival as a daily battle. He recounts a time when he himself was left for dead and thrown onto one of the trucks. If not for his friends who dragged him off and nurtured him back to health, Sokolov would have been burned along with other corpses.

In the Auschwitz camp, Sokolov tattooed all of the incoming prisoners with a number, which would be used to identify them rather than their names.

One day he tattooed a girl named Gita, with whom he instantly fell in love.

With camp authorities maintaining a tight authoritarian watch over the prisoners, Sokolov was extremely careful in not only approaching her but also pursuing his love.

By developing friendships with outsiders of the camp, he was able to access additional food, medicine, and resources, which he shared with other men in his living quarters and Gita.

After being separated during the liberation of the camp in 1945, Sokolov and Gita found their way back to one another in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

The two married shortly after and lived out the rest of their lives in freedom as successful business owners. Their story not only shows their bravery throughout their imprisonment but also their dedication to one another and their will to survive.

“The Tattooist of Auschwitz” has received lots of attention for its raw emotion and detailed account. It has been recognized by top publications such as the Times and BBC as a confronting, memorable and noteworthy story.

Thanks to Park who translated the book into Korean, readers here will also be able to know the story of Lale and Gita Sokolov.

Jin Yu-young is a Korea Times intern.