The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

What did you think of this section? One of the most surprising things to me was the fact that the guards at the camp wanted to play a soccer game with the prisoners. It was crazy to imagine that the young guards were looking to have fun and be active, even while working a job that required them to routinely murder people. It was so sickening that ash rained down on the players as they played. I can't imagine walking around all day with the remains of murdered people falling down everywhere. I really don't know how anyone was able to keep going. People have such an incredible capability for survival. Another surprising thing was the fact that the SS guards were so superstitious and gave extra things to prisoners that found four leaf clovers. The guards did so many "childish" things at some points, and then at others, they were brutal killing machines. 

Josef Mengele is mentioned in this section. He was known as the "Angel of Death" and did horrible experiments on patients in the camps. If you would like to learn more about him and the terrifying things he did during his time in the camps, check out this article. 

Lale mentions that The Red Cross were coming to the camp to inspect the conditions. He mentions that he did get some extra rations, but Lale is not sure if The Red Cross ever came to the camp at all. According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, The Red Cross did not visit any of the death camps. An emissary was sent to the camp, but he was not allowed in the gates. If you want to read more, check out this article from the museum. You can also check out this article to read more about a Red Cross visit to one of the ghettos. It's so sad that the Nazis were able to fool so many people about the realities of what they were doing. 

One of the striking scenes in this section was when Lale was called to a crematorium to look at the tattooed numbers on two corpses. That scene was disgusting and horrifying and showed the depth of the depravity of the camps and the guards. But, at the end of the scene, Lale yells at Baretski, and Baretski accepts the verbal attack. I just couldn't imagine their dynamic. On one hand, we see prisoners being murdered for stepping out of line or going to the bathroom, but on the other, Lale is able to scream at Baretski and live. The conditions that the guards and prisoners existed in must have made everyone act abnormally all the time. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the way the guards react. It seems like they want to be friendly in some instances, but in others, they aren't bothered at all by the death and destruction all around them. In the last chapter of this section, Baretski even admits that he knows that Lale is trading items on the black market, and he asks Lale to get him something for a girlfriend. It seems like Baretski wouldn't let Lale do anything against the rules, but he doesn't seem to care about it. 

What stuck out to you the most from this section? Do you think Baretski is going to continue to give privileges to Lale? Are you anxious for the camp to be liberated? What do you think will happen in the last chapters? 

Before you go, check out the video below to learn about how hair and make up played an important role in the screen adaptation of the book. Can you imagine how emotional it would be to shave your head and lose that part of your identity? 

Thanks for following along this week! I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this section. Enjoy finishing the book for next week's discussion!