In 2017, The Auschwitz Tattooist, Heather Morris’s novel, hit bookstores and quickly became an international bestseller, selling more than 14 million copies worldwide today.
Five years later, Sky Studios and Peacock have secured the rights to make the poignant mini-series, which will be broadcast this Wednesday, January 22 on M6.
Is the series adapted from a real story?
The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the story of Lali Sokolov, an Auschwitz prisoner who was responsible for tattooing identification numbers on the arms of other prisoners. However, in the hell of the concentration camp, he met the love of his life, Gita Furman, whom he married at the end of the war.
Lali Sokolov, who died in 2006, wanted to tell her story to Heather Morris before she died, so that her story would continue after her death. The book and the series are inspired by these conversations. But although both works are presented as based on a true story, many have questioned the accuracy of what is being said.
A critical novel
In an article published in 2018 in the journal published by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Wanda Witek-Malika, one of the staff members of the research center, addressed various facts in the book.
With this, he confirmed that Lali Sokolov was indeed a tattoo artist and a prisoner of Auschwitz. He arrived at the camp on April 23, 1942 and was assigned the number 32407. It is also true that he completed the identification numbers of other prisoners.
He actually fell in love with Geeta Furman and they lived happily ever after. However, Wanda Vitek-Malika questioned certain points in the novel, particularly about the functioning of the camps.
He actually explained that it was not possible for Lal and Geeta to meet while he was getting his number tattooed. Men actually tattooed exclusively male prisoners, while female prisoners were tattooed by women.
Wanda Witek-Malika was particularly critical of the fact that author Heather Morris relied solely on Lally’s story without comparing it to archival documents from the Auschwitz camp.
The series is more faithful to the real story
However, the showrunners of The Tattooist at Auschwitz took it upon themselves to work on the details to make the series more faithful to historical facts, as they explained to our colleagues. time. For example, they didn’t use the Gita number listed in the novel, but the one she mentioned in the Shoah Foundation testimony.
In the novel, Lal tries to find penicillin for Geeta, but this drug was not widely available at the time. So, in the series, they chose to call the drug an antimicrobial.
The fiction also explains that Sokolov was one tattoo artist among others, not the only one as the novel suggests. They also visited Auschwitz several times to make the camp as realistic as possible.
The producer commissioned documentary filmmaker Naomi Green to look at survivor testimonies, contact libraries and museums around the world, and interview the Auschwitz Museum. Series director Tali Shalom-Ezer still explained to Time that The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on Lale’s memories and the story she wanted to tell.
“Ultimately, the story we tell is a ruby. We believe in ruby. We will tell you his memories, exactly as he described them“, he explained. The purpose of the series is not to offer a historically accurate series, but to encourage people.Do your own researchAs producer Claire Mundell explained to our colleagues.
Despite all that, The Auschwitz Tattooist remains an essential piece of fiction that shows the horrors of the camps and highlights the traumas that plagued survivors after their liberation.
Catch the first two episodes of The Auschwitz Tattoo this Wednesday 22nd January from 9.10pm on M6. The evening continues at 23:15 with the documentary “The True Story of the Auschwitz Tattooist”, which tells the story of love and hope, which triumphs over horror and chaos, and the functioning of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.
Source: Allocine

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.