‘The Tattooist Of Auschwitz’ Review – Peacock Miniseries Grapples With Finding Hope In A Hopeless Time

From 1941 to 1945, approximately six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. When you see the dates of the Holocaust and hear the word, it’s easy to think of it as something from the past. A time when most of us today weren’t even alive. However, there are still people who not only fought in World War II alive today but people who survived the intentional genocide committed by the Nazis.

People are still alive today who had loved ones who fought in World War II. My grandmother’s father fought in France during the war and he passed away when I was a child. I never asked my great-grandfather about his time in the war, but my grandmother would tell me about his stories. She would tell me about the horrors of the Holocaust that she had found out about due to pictures and stories when she was a child.

It’s important to have media that continues to talk about this period of time, which is how we come to Peacock’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Based on the 2018 book by Heather Morris, this six-part miniseries is based on the true story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew imprisoned in Auschwitz who falls in love with another prisoner whom he tattooed. The book and the show depict Lale and Gita’s relationship and their fight for survival.

When the book was first released in 2018, it wasn’t without its controversies. There were inaccuracies within the book that director Tali Shalom-Ezer took into account when creating the series. The show not only shows what happened in the past but also has a modern-day older Lale recounting his tale to the author Heather Morris. Jonah Hauer-King plays Lale well and properly depicts a man grappling with the fact that he survived something that killed so many.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz doesn’t shy away from showing the horrific dehumanization at the Nazi concentration camp. Millions of Jewish people lost their lives in Auschwitz and the show is a stark reminder of that. While it feels like that’s the last place where love should bloom, the relationship between Lale and Gita becomes a small light of hope in an otherwise grim reality.

Both actors do a good job of bringing these characters to life and showcasing their struggles during such a horrifying time. In the grim reality of a concentration camp, Anna Próchniak (Gita) and Hauer-King (Lale) do a good job of selling their love. It was also a nice change of pace when the show would break to Heather Morris (played by Melanie Lynskey) as she puts together the details for her 2018 book.

Viewers should be warned that this is a hard watch. Between the graphic violence and emotional toll on the characters, it’s a tough watch. And while there is a love story nestled within the story, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else other than the horrors of what people had to endure. It’s a story of survival and perhaps in today’s day and age, it’s necessary to be reminded of how dark humanity can get.

The Tattooist Of Auschwitz is currently available to stream on Peacock.