The Tattooist of Auschwitz & Cilka's Journey

By Heather Morris

Heather Morris has carefully and respectfully woven the lives of Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov, Gisela (Gita) Furmannova and Cecilia (Cilka) Klein into two gripping historical novels, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, 2018, and Cilka's Journey, 2019.

By using real-life stories as the inspiration for these stories, Morris invites us to build a unique relationship with the characters. What struck me most, was the strong emotional connection I felt to the protagonists as they endured life in some of the most harrowing places on earth.

These novels gave me a whole new perspective on the terrible living conditions, abuse and trauma that thousands of innocent people experienced in the Nazi, and later Soviet, labour camps. Above all else, Morris has demonstrated the strength of human beings and our determination to survive against all odds.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Morris was first acquainted with Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist, Lale Sokolov in December 2003. Her first novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, is based on hours of interviews with Lale and provides a gripping account of Lale's determination to survive Auschwitz-Birkenau and make a life with his beloved Gita.

I knew this novel was going to be an emotional rollercoaster before I even turned the first page, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for what was in store.

From the off-set, it's evident that Lale has a true survival instinct and a desire to care for others. He takes the job as Tätowierer knowing that it will remove him from hard labour, keep him out of the gas chambers and help him influence the fate of others. Lale gets better rations, improved living conditions and even learns to trade with the possessions of the deceased for extra food and medicines. Selflessly, Lale shares everything he can with those who are sick and in need, saving hundreds of lives.

Morris depicts him as a kind and thoughtful man who really did what was necessary to preserve himself and others during his time in Auschwitz concentration camp. Lale's inner strength and resolve really helps us as readers to stay hopeful as we journey through through this desolate place alongside him. We know Lale survives (how else would Morris have interviewed him?) but there is still a feeling of suspense that drives the novel forward.

What makes this book special is that no matter how bleak things look for Lale, there is always a glimmer of hope - Gita. In normal circumstances, it might seem strange for an author to situate a romance in a place like Auschwitz, but the love between Lale and Gita is not a fictional love story, it's real. By sharing their story with the world, Lale and Gita have proven once and for all that love and compassion can thrive anywhere - no matter how bad the circumstances are.

I was so pleased to find that Morris included additional information and photographs of Lale and Gita at the end of the book. It sounds bizarre to say 'I needed closure', but I honestly don't know how else to describe it.

When you've watched two wonderful people overcome the worst years of their lives in a concentration camp, you really want to know if they went on to live a somewhat 'normal' life afterwards. For me, this was unlike any book I had ever read before, I was so emotionally invested in the characters that I was heartbroken when their stories came to an end. Thankfully, Morris didn't put the pen down and move on after this novel, she started investigating the story of one of Lale and Gita's close friends - Cilka.

Cilka's Journey

We get to know Cilka a little bit in Morris's first novel during her time at Auschwitz-Birkenau, but Cilka's does not start and finish in Auschwitz. We know that Cilka has been sexually abused by Nazi generals time and time again. In fact, this is probably the only reason that she's still alive at the end of the first novel.

After enduring three years of continual abuse, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Cilka as the Russian soldiers come to liberate Auschwitz. What happens next is unbelievable. Rather than being freed, Cilka is sentenced to serve fifteen years in the Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia, a Soviet labour camp. Why? Because she 'aided the enemy'.

Morris uses flashbacks to Cilka's time at Auschwitz to help us visualise the similarities between the Vorkuta Gulag and Auschwitz, which I think is really important because so few of us remember that it wasn't just the Germans who enslaved and persecuted (often innocent) people. The terrors that Cilka faces in this new camp are painfully similar to those she endured before. She is raped and blackmailed, all the while having to cope with the extreme seasons and weather conditions of Siberia.

Much like Lale in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka is able to secure herself a job at the Gulag to keep herself alive. She quickly becomes a talented and valued nurse which comes with some perks like, extra rations, access to medicines, and respect from prison staff which she uses to keep the other women she lives with alive.

During her time as a nurse, Cilka becomes acquainted with Alexandr who quickly becomes a prominent feature of her life at the camp. She thinks about him all the time and develops feelings for him that she feared she would never feel again. It is this spark of romance that helps us believe that Cilka has a chance at rehabilitation and normal relationships with men, despite everything she's been subjected to.

It's distressing at times to visualise the horrific injuries that people sustained while working in these camps, but it's a stark reminder that the prisoners were not considered people -they were merely cogs in an insufferable machine. We follow Cilka as she bravely goes where no man dares to venture, to save many prisoners as she possibly can.

If you like a bold and fearless heroine, you'll love Cilka's Journey, and I think this is an amazing sequel to Morris's first book. I hope that Morris will write more novels in this series to bring more people's stories to life and to finally give them a voice.