Eternal Love
Last night I finished reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It's been on my list of books to read for a couple years now and I finally got around to buying it. I couldn't put it down. Literally started reading it at 10 pm and finished it as the sun began to rise. It's been a few months since that's happened. Thank goodness I'm retired because I don't miss the mornings where I dragged myself to work after spending the night reading.
Historical true stories as well as historical fiction are among my favorite genres. It's a nice change after reading several crime novels. The Victorian, World War I and World War 2 are eras that interest me the most and I prefer stories from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe.
Lale Sokolov is well-dressed, a charmer, a ladies’ man. He is also a Jew. On the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz in 1942, Lale immediately stands out to his fellow prisoners. In the camp, he is looked up to, looked out for, and put to work in the privileged position of Tätowierer – the tattooist – to mark his fellow prisoners, forever. One of them is a young woman, Gita, who steals his heart at first glance.
His life given new purpose, Lale does his best through the struggle and suffering to use his position for good.
This story, full of beauty and hope, is based on years of interviews author Heather Morris conducted with real-life Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. It is heart-wrenching, illuminating, and unforgettable.
Lale's optimism made me love him and his story immediately. Even though he says he lost his faith the night he arrived at Auschwitz, Lale never gives up the idea that he will walk out of the gates of the concentration camp one day. His love for Gita after seeing her one time is what fairytales are made of. This is a true story and Heather Morris has done a wonderful job bringing it to the public. The strength of the Jewish people, of all the people that survived the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps takes my breath away. My parents weren't Jewish, but they came of age during WWII and married while Dad served in the Navy. Growing up I heard only a few family stories about the war. Mostly because it just wasn't something the men talked about. They went, they served, they came home and tried to move on with their lives, putting what they'd seen in Europe and the Pacific well behind them.
Stories like Lale Sokolov's need to be written. They need to be handed down for generations to come not only to inspire but to remind us to never allow something like this to happen again. Time to suss out my next read.
