Rating: 4/5
When Lale Eisenberg is transported by the Nazis to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, he desperately tries to keep an “optimistic” psychological outlook, determined to live through the three years he will spend in the camp and to see the end of the war. When various officials notice that Lale can speak many different languages fluently, they assign him the job of “Tatowierer.” He must tattoo identification numbers onto the arms of the new prisoners that come in with each daily transport. Although Lale is mentally horrified that he must defile his fellow prisoners, he accepts the job, knowing that, as a more privileged career, he will receive more rations and generally more respect from SS officials. He distributes the extra food he is given to as many prisoners in the camp as he can.
One day, Lale, looking up from his table to begin tattooing the row of captives being herded towards him, is horrified to see that the new prisoners are teenagers and young women. They have had their identification numbers tattooed onto their arms already, but the ink has faded and must be redone. Devastated at his new task, Lale begins to work. At one point, he looks up into the beautiful eyes of a girl, Gisela “Gita” Fuhrmannova, who will later become his wife.
Lale spends as much time with Gita as he can, and the two soon fall in love. He urges Gita not to give up, inspiring her with talk of the future they will build together when the camp is liberated. The power of love between the two helps them both to live through the horrors of life in Auschwitz.
An inspiring yet heart-breaking tale of the beautiful power of love and hope.