Previous
Herr Doktor Josef Mengele
Schwarzhuber is a high-ranking officer at Birkenau. A cruel and unfeeling man, he rapes Cilka and forces her to become his unwilling mistress, calling upon her frequently and taking her to his bedroom. When Cilka learns that Lale has been taken to Block 31 (where it’s extremely difficult to survive), she asks Schwarzhuber to do her a favor by having him transferred and reinstated as the tattooist, pointing out that she has never refused to do anything he wants to do. Somewhat unexpectedly, Schwarzhuber agrees to do this, thereby saving Lale’s life.
Schwarzhuber Quotes in The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The The Tattooist of Auschwitz quotes below are all either spoken by Schwarzhuber or refer to Schwarzhuber. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 17 Quotes
“What do you mean, hero? She’s not a hero,” Gita says with some annoyance. “She just wants to live.”
“And that makes her a hero. You’re a hero, too, my darling. That the two of you have chosen to survive is a type of resistance to these Nazi bastards. Choosing to live is an act of defiance, a form of heroism.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This exchange takes place between Gita and Lale after Gita finally tells Lale that Schwarzhuber—one of the camp’s highest-ranking officers—has been periodically raping Cilka. When Lale hears this, he calls Cilka a hero for enduring such a terrible fate, but Gita doesn’t understand what Lale means by this. Pointing out that Cilka is just doing what’s necessary to stay alive, Gita insists that her friend isn’t a hero. However, Lale disagrees because he believes that anyone who chooses to do what it takes to survive in the twisted world of the concentration camps is a hero. In turn, he suggests Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque
Get the entire The Tattooist of Auschwitz LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Schwarzhuber Character Timeline in The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The timeline below shows where the character Schwarzhuber appears in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9
...a nearby room, Cilka looks up to find a large bed. She also discovers that Schwarzhuber, the leader of Birkenau, is standing above her. As Cilka tries not to protest, Schwarzhuber...
(full context)
Chapter 13
At night, Cilka lies in bed with Schwarzhuber and she tries not to think or feel anything. When Lale goes to the administration...
(full context)
Chapter 17
...in her empty block. Finally, Gita tells Lale that Cilka has become “the plaything of Schwarzhuber.” This troubles Lale deeply, and he notes aloud that it would be terrible if Cilka...
(full context)
Chapter 20
Later that night, Cilka is lying in bed with Schwarzhuber when she points out to him that she has never refused to do anything he...
(full context)
