Love in the darkest of places
Discover the poignant story of Lali and Gita Sokolov’s unexpected romance amid the horrors of the Holocaust in the acclaimed new Sky original drama, The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Love was the only thing that kept me going. Love for Gita, love for life itself.”
Like millions of others, Lali Sokolov witnessed and was subjected to unimaginable hatred and violence as a prisoner during the Holocaust. His determination to love was his act of rebellion, as described in the 2018 book The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
This May, Sky presents a devastatingly moving, yet hopeful, portrayal of both the events and creation of Heather Morris’s bestseller, starring Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), Anna Próchniak (Baptiste), Melanie Lynskey (Don’t Look Up) and Hollywood veteran Harvey Keitel.
And although this drama doesn’t shy away from showcasing the reality of one of humanity’s darkest periods, at its heart is an epic love story, as seen through the eyes of one of its protagonists.
A story of courage
The series begins with Slovakian Jew Lali (Hauer-King) arriving at AuschwitzBirkenau in 1942. Shortly after being
processed, the young man is made one of the tätowierer (tattooists), charged with inking identification numbers onto fellow prisoners’ arms. Despite the inconceivable burden of effectively being forced into aiding the work of his captors, this role eventually leads to a fleeting encounter with a beautiful young woman named Gita Furman (Próchniak), while tattooing her arm.
For both, it’s love at first sight, but they must constantly risk their lives to see each other. Under the constant guard of volatile and intimidating Nazi SS officer Baretzki, played by Jonas Nay (Deutschland 83), Lali and Gita become committed to keeping each other alive.
The narrative shifts between their terrifying struggle to survive in the hope of a better life together and 60 years later, when Lali has been recently widowed. Played by Keitel, he finds the courage to tell the world his story.
In recounting it to writer Heather, Lali, now in his 80s, faces the traumatic ghosts of his youth and relives his memories of falling in love in the most horrific of places.
Prestige drama
Aside from an illustrious cast, The Tattooist of Auschwitz unsurprisingly delivers arresting visuals, and the original score from Kara Talve and the Oscar-winning Hans Zimmer lends even more weight to the drama. Director Tali Shalom-Ezer was keen to treat this remarkable story with the sensitivity it deserved: “It was a very collaborative job, with so many voices and thoughts… We had to constantly ask ourselves if a scene was too light or if we were being respectful enough.”
As well as maintaining a constant dialogue with the production’s historical and Jewish consultant Naomi Gryn, they also “read books, watched documentaries, visited Auschwitz several times, and read testimonies by Holocaust survivors,” explains Shalom-Ezer. This impressively realised six-part series premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV on 2 May, so take the chance to immerse yourself in the unique human story behind one of modern history’s most senseless tragedies.
