World War II · Series · 2024
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
A young Slovak Jew in Auschwitz-Birkenau is made to tattoo numbers on the arms of fellow prisoners, and falls in love with one of them; decades later, in old age, he tells his story to a writer.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 3 places.
Stop 1: Krompachy, Slovakia
Hoping to protect his family, Lali reports for what he is told is labour service in Germany.
Stop 2: Auschwitz-Birkenau
Key location
Given the tattooist's needle, Lali gains small privileges he uses to smuggle food, and meets Gita when he marks her arm.
Stop 3: Bratislava
After the camps are emptied, Lali searches for Gita among the survivors returning home.
What really happened
Lali Sokolov, born Ludwig Eisenberg in Krompachy, was deported from Slovakia to Auschwitz in April 1942 and became a Tätowierer, one of the prisoners who tattooed numbers on new arrivals; Auschwitz was the only Nazi camp to tattoo its prisoners. There he met Gita Furman, and after the war the two found each other again in Bratislava and married.
The six-part series adapts Heather Morris's 2018 novel, drawn from her interviews with Sokolov in Melbourne. The Auschwitz Memorial's research centre criticised the book for many factual errors, and the series openly frames the story as the memory of one survivor, recalled more than fifty years later.
Where to watch
Checking streaming services…
Full details
- Original title
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz
- Created by
- Jacquelin Perske
- Countries
- United Kingdom, United States
- Languages
- English, German, Slovak
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Released
- 2024
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Eastern Front
- Themes
- Holocaust
- Prisoners of war
- Romance
- True story
