Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival and Morality
Faith, Love, and Optimism
Unity, Sacrifice, and Empathy
Knowledge, Uncertainty, and Power
Summary
Analysis
One summer day, Gita asks Lale if he’s lost his religious faith. Hesitating at first, Lale eventually says that he has, indeed, lost his faith. Ever since he saw those two SS officers mercilessly kill the three men going to bathroom on his first night, he has had trouble believing in God. In response, Gita says that Lale must believe in something, and he says that he does—he believes in his relationship with her and in the fact that they will survive. All the same, Lale tells Gita that he is completely fine with her keeping her faith, saying that they can even raise their children to be Jewish. When he says this, Gita admits that she doesn’t know whether or not her body will be able to produce children anymore, but Lale insists that he’ll be able to get her healthy again once they leave the camp.
In the absence of religious faith, Lale turns to love. A naturally optimistic person, he has devoted himself to idea that he will survive his time in Birkenau and, moreover, that he will do so with Gita. In fact, Lale sees their relationship as an entity in and of itself, something to believe in and give them both the strength they need to persist. In turn, readers see how important it is for people to have something to lean upon in times of hardship, whether that means investing oneself in religious belief, love, or whatever else might create a sense of hopefulness.
Themes
Gita thanks Lale for his unfailing optimism, saying that his positive attitude makes it possible for her to believe in the future. However, when Lale asks her to tell him her last name, she refuses, saying that she doesn’t want to do that until the day they leave Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Lale’s optimism is contagious, as it rubs off on Gita and it helps her embody the same kind of hopefulness that he so thoroughly embraces. And though Gita’s refusal to tell Lale her last name only infuses their lives with more uncertainty, it is also proof that she truly believes that they will survive long enough to leave Auschwitz-Birkenau together.
Themes
When Lale returns to his room, he finds two SS officers inside. His stash of jewels and money is on his bed. When they ask for an explanation, Lale can think of no response. Taking out their pistols, the officers march him to Houstek, who asks where Lale obtained so many valuable items. Lale says he received these things from prisoners, but when Houstek asks for their names, Lale claims to not know. Infuriated, Houstek instructs the officers to take Lale to Block 11, where he’s thrown into a small room. He says a silent farewell to Gita and his family, remembering with sorrow his mother, father, older brother, and younger sister. Block 11 is notorious throughout the camps for being one of the “punishment blocks,” where prisoners are tortured and then taken to be shot in front of the Black Wall, so Lale has little hope for survival.
Despite Lale’s persistent hopefulness, he now faces a seemingly inescapable death sentence. In this moment, he abandons his belief that he will survive, instead focusing on the prospect of never seeing Gita or his family again. Of course, what’s most notable about this is that Lale would rather die than tell the Nazis the names of the fellow prisoners who helped him obtain jewels and money. Consequently, readers see his willingness to sacrifice himself, clearly believing that it’s his duty to protect other prisoners from harm.
Themes
When the door to Lale’s cell finally opens, he’s surprised to see Jakub standing before him. Also surprised, Jakub asks Lale what he’s doing here, but Lale doesn’t answer, instead marveling at the fact that he hasn’t seen Jakub for so long. Jakub notes that, just as Lale had predicted, the Nazis found work for him. Momentarily changing the subject, Jakub notes that he heard Lale had been sneaking food into the camp, and Lale says that this is why he’s been put in Block 11, though he doesn’t know who turned him in. After listening to this, Jakub tells Lale that he has been sent to beat him into confessing who helped him with his smuggling. This horrifies Lale, but Jakub says, “Like you, Tätowierer, I do what I have to do to survive”—a sentiment Lale understands all too well.
In this section of the novel, readers are invited to consider the relationship between survival and morality. More specifically, the story encourages readers to ask themselves what, exactly, they think is morally permissible in the name of survival. After all, Lale and Jakub’s willingness to work for the Nazis is ultimately fueled by the same logic: that in dire circumstances, they must do whatever it takes to survive. And yet, tattooing prisoners is much different than torturing them. In turn, the moral reasoning behind Lale’s overall thoughts about survival come to seem rather uncomfortable, as readers realize that the same kind of logic can potentially be used to justify behavior that’s much more violent in nature.
Themes
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“I am a killer, Lale,” Jakub says. Going on, he says that, though his job is to get names out of Lale, he won’t actually let his friend give up his collaborators. Seeing Lale’s confusion, Jakub says that he will try to make Lale’s beating look worse than it is and he’ll try to spare him as much as possible—but he won’t allow Lale to surrender any names. Because Jakub wants to take as little “innocent blood” as possible, he doesn’t want Lale to say anything. “If I must kill one Jew to save ten others, then I will,” he says. Hearing this, Lale only feels sorry for Jakub, apologizing that this is the work the Nazis have forced him to do. He also tells his friend to do whatever he needs to, indicating that he won’t give up any names.
Although Jakub’s job as the torturer seems less morally permissible than Lale’s job as the tattooist, this idea becomes a bit more complex when Jakub reveals that he will try as hard as possible to minimize the amount of bloodshed he causes. Similarly, Pepan pointed out to Lale that if he refused to work as the tattooist, somebody with less “soul” might take the job and hurt the prisoners more than Lale would. This, it seems, is the same logic underlying Jakub’s approach; although he has chosen to comply with the Nazis in order to survive, he has also taken it upon himself to save as many people as he can, even if this means doing things that would be morally unforgivable in other contexts. This dynamic highlights one of the most contentious questions in the philosophical study of ethics—namely, whether or not moral codes should be upheld under all circumstances (an approach known as moral absolutism) or if what’s considered morally permissible shifts depending upon the contextual framework or structure (an approach known as moral relativism). And though it’s easy to suggest that whatever is considered right and wrong should remain the same at all times, the fact of the matter is that things become significantly less clear-cut in dire situations like the Holocaust, where people like Jakub face the impossible decision between death and immorality.
Themes
After instructing Lale to only speak Yiddish because the guards who will be watching his beating don’t know he speaks German, Jakub leaves. Alone, Lale thinks about his family again, remembering how his mother—whom he’s always fiercely loved—once told him that he would know for sure what true love feels like whenever he met the right woman. Thinking about Gita, Lale now knows that his mother was right.
In what might be the final moments of Lale’s life, it makes sense that he would think about his family and about Gita. After all, Lale has always been the kind of person who devotes himself wholeheartedly to love, so it follows that he would spend his remaining time considering the people he cares about most.
Themes
When Jakub returns, he takes Lale to another room where two SS officers converse with each other while watching with disinterest as Jakub punches Lale in the face. Once the violence gets going, though, the officers become intrigued. Jakub brings his foot back, indicating that he’s about to kick Lale, who’s able to brace for the blow. When Lale tries to stand, Jakub punches him in the face, and though he “telegraphed his intention,” Lale is unable to prepare himself. Continuing in this manner, Jakub picks up a switch and he takes off Lale’s shirt, whipping him and yelling at him to give up the names of the prisoners who help him smuggle food. However, Lale claims he doesn’t know their names.
As promised, Jakub tries to make Lale’s beating look worse than it actually is. Still, though, it’s clear that Jakub will have to brutally harm his friend in order to convince the guards that Lale doesn’t know the names of the other prisoners who helped him smuggle food into the camp. This, it seems, is the only way that Jakub can protect his fellow prisoners, even as he tries to also protect Lale as much as possible. In turn, readers see that Jakub truly is trying to minimize the amount of pain he inflicts upon others, though it’s also clear that he has been put in a very difficult position, since there is no way for him to completely avoid hurting Lale.
Themes
Jakub continues to whip Lale. At one point, he stoops and he whispers to him, telling him to say once more that he doesn’t know the names of the prisoners before pretending to pass out. Lale does just this, at which point Jakub turns to the officers and says, “He is a weak Jew. If he knew the names, he would’ve told us by now.” The officers believe him and they leave. When they’re gone, Jakub apologizes to Lale and he helps him back to the other room, where he puts Lale on his stomach and he tells him to sleep, promising to return soon with water and a new shirt. In the coming days, Jakub continues to bring Lale water and new clothing, taking care of his wounds. Soon enough, two SS officers fetch Lale and they take him out of his cell, put him in a truck, and drive him back to Birkenau.
Jakub’s plan, it appears, has worked. By exaggerating the severity of Lale’s beating, he effectively tricks the Nazis into letting Lale go without giving up any of the names of the prisoners who helped him smuggle food into the camps. What’s more, Jakub risks his own wellbeing by secretly caring for Lale in the aftermath of the beating, putting himself in jeopardy to make sure that his friend survives. In this way, he repays Lale for feeding him on his first night in the camp, thereby proving that kindness and empathy perpetuate themselves and cycle from person to person even in terrible environments.
Themes
