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Customer Review
- Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2018A harrowing , heartfelt account set amidst the horrific obscenity that was Auschwitz. It gives us a picture of some of the atrocities,but rarely in graphic detail. This is a story of a lifelong love which began and flourished in this ghastly, deadly setting.
Lake was a fashionable young man-about-town, popular with ladies of all ages. He, along with other Jews were transported by cattle car from his home area in Slovakia. He was soon selected to tattoo a numerical identification on the arms of multitudes arriving at the death camp. Among early subjects he tattooed was a frightened, trembling young woman, Gita.
As tattooist, Lale was in a privileged position, but never without dread. He was given a larger portion of unappetizing food and a better place to sleep while many of the inmates were tortured and shot or herded towards the crematorium. He was determined to survive and developed a romance with Gita who returned his love. He promised her they would survive, marry and have children.
Lale established many friendships within the camp. Among them were women whose duties were to sort through the belongings of those marked for death. They gave jewels and money they found to Lale in exchange for more nourishing food and chocolate which he obtained from a contact outside the camp. With the precious stones and money he was able to bribe some guards for better conditions for others and to get time alone with Gita. He also divided up foodstuff to pass on to as many as he could. He was distraught when a group of Gypsy friends were led away to the gas chambers. He was concerned that he might be regarded as a collaborator with the Nazis.
The author met Lale in Australia in 2003 where he and his wife Gita immigrated after the war. He had found success as a business man. They had a son. Gita was now dead and Lale wanted his story told before his death. Although the book is described as historic fiction, the publisher believes about 95% is factual. Most of the book has been found to be true with conversations word for word as Lale related them. Inner thoughts were invented by the author. Some minor errors can be attributed to an old man’s hazy memory. Photos of the couple depict them at different stages of their lifetime together.
