Ludwig ("Lali" or "Lale") Sokolov ( Eisenberg; 28 October 1916 – 31 October 2006), was an Austro-Hungarian-born Slovak-Australian businessman and

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

Biography

Lale Sokolov was born Ludwig Eisenberg on 28 October 1916 in Korompa,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(now

Krompachy Krompachy (, ) is a town in Slovakia, with a rich mining and metallurgical history, well-known both in Slovakia and in its close neighboring countries for its Plejsy ski center. History The town was first mentioned in 1282 in a charter by Kin ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

). In April 1942, he was deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

as part of the Slovak government's participation in the Holocaust. Upon arrival at the

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

, he was tattooed with the number 32407. He was set to work constructing housing blocks for the expanding camp but soon became ill with

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

. Having recovered, he was assigned as one of the camp's ''Tätowierer'' ( tattooist). As such, he was part of the

Politische Abteilung The ''Politische Abteilung'' ("Political Department"), also called the "concentration camp Gestapo," was one of the five departments of a Nazi concentration camp set up by the Concentration Camps Inspectorate (CCI) to operate the camps. An outpos ...

and had an SS officer assigned to monitor him. His job meant he was "a step further away from death than the other prisoners", and he received a number of benefits such as a single room, extra rations, and free time when his work had been completed. While in the camp, Sokolov met his future wife Gisela "Gita" Fuhrmannova. He was also involved in trading

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...

with prisoners, SS officers, and locals. Eight days before the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945, Sokolov was moved to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. At Mauthausen his Jewish identity was unknown; when he was denounced for being Jewish by a fellow prisoner, he successfully denied the revelation and incited two allies to murder his betrayer in the steel mill's rollers. He escaped that concentration camp, and returned to Slovakia. Knowing only Gita Fuhrmannova's name, he went to

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, the main entry point for returning survivors, to search for her. The couple married later in 1945, and he changed his surname from Eisenberg to the more Russian-sounding Sokolov. He then opened a factory in

. During this time, he was involved in collecting money in support of the creation of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. This activity, and the nationalization of industry by Czechoslovakia's then communist government, resulted in his being imprisoned and having his business seized. He was subsequently released and the couple emigrated to Australia in 1948. In Australia, Sokolov and his wife settled in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and opened up a clothing factory. Their only child, Gary, was born in 1961. Though his wife visited Europe a number of times, Sokolov never returned. Following Gita's death in 2003, he finally felt able to speak about his war-time experience, having feared that he would be perceived as a collaborator. He was interviewed by journalist

Heather Morris Heather Elizabeth Morris is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She played the role of Brittany S. Pierce in the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. Early life Morris was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and raised in Scottsdale, ...

over the next three years, resulting in the publication of '' The Tattooist of Auschwitz'' in 2018. While the book was billed as historical fiction, it generated controversy because of a perception that its marketing and content suggested historical accuracy despite departures from the truth and presenting a

hagiographic A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...

rendition of a complicated biography. Sokolov died in 2006, survived by his son.

In popular culture

On 2 May 2024, a

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

based on '' The Tattooist of Auschwitz'' by Morris, was released, starring

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

as Lale Sokolov,

Jonah Hauer-King Jonah Andre Hauer-King (born 30 May 1995) is a British-American actor. He began acting while studying at St John's College, Cambridge. He is best known for playing List of The Little Mermaid characters#Prince_Eric, Prince Eric in Walt Disney Pi ...

as young Lale Sokolov, and Anna Próchniak as Gita.

Biography

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading