The Tattooist of Auschwitz

This was not an easy watch FOR ME. My paternal great grandparents were from Bohemia (now Slovakia previously Czechoslovakia during WW II) - they left during the 1918 pogroms. My maternal grandmother and her sister were put on an English Kindertransport ship to England (from German) after Kristallnacht in late 1938.

Lale, was what we were taught, a Kapo or Sonderkommando (you will need to watch the series to understand) I was finally able to watch this, as an adult with the necessary compassion, empathy, understanding and possibly even *forgiveness* that the Jewish people had "only 2 choices, the bad one or the worse one".

I do think they missed an opportunity to show just how bad conditions were in the camps, particularly given that Lale and Gita were in Birkenau for (I think) almost 3 years and we didn't see the brutal winters and oppressive summers or the starvation

The story is an *easy watching* Holocaust movie - an oxymoron if ever there was such a thing. It is primarily a love story with a smidgeon of brutality and depravity by the SS & Nazi's thrown in to give us a miniscule idea of life in the camps

Nonetheless, it is an important series to watch given the current rise of anti-semitism that is prevalent in the world today. It is a beautiful story filled with tenderness, love and hope

Harvey Keitel was outstanding. His performance as Lale (senior) had me sobbing. I will definitely re-watch this and even if you are not Jewish, not interested in WW II, not a fan of love stories - this is still an absolute must-watch. It is the kind of story that reminds us of the power of love and that we must never give up hope.

My main reason for this post is to correct all the ill-informed posters who have critisised Melanies portrayal of Heather Morris in this series. Author Heather Morris is a New Zealander, AS IS Melanie Lynskey!!!! Melanie used her native NZ accent, and it was accurate to a tee. She was never meant to be a British woman as so many seem to think. Lali resided in Melbourne, Australia and was interviewed by a New Zealand woman with a New Zealand accent. Okay, having explained all that, my Jewish wife and I were very disturbed by series despite having been totally familiar with the history of the appalling conditions and treatment in the camps. I did think that it was impossible to obtain actors and extras who could ever look as emaciated as the actual victims, but the message came across as strongly as intended. I do agree with others that young Lali did look and sound as if he had just graduated from Oxford University and would have benefited with an attempt at a Polish accent as all other parts were spoken with the various European accents. All in all, a valiant attempt at a forever difficult subject.

The initial low rating for this, 6.0, is quite perplexing. High quality drama with a real feeling of the absolute bleakness, randomness and inhumanity that existed in these camps. Yet showing human spirit and humanity amongst people treated as inhuman by their captors. Really well acted with every character having depth. I think enjoying it is probably the wrong word but it is quality tv Not quite a perfect 10, I did appreciate the value of moving beween ww2 and the present day but it was done a bit too frequently for me and disrupted the drama a bit. And old Lali had an accent which young Lali didnt..did he develop it in Australia?

As i write the current rating here is 6.9, i should expect that to rise over the coming weeks as more and more discover this gem of a series. It is, as one would expect, a tough watch. I felt sad, sick and angry whilst viewing this. A powerful subject that has been covered many times over the years and i would say this series is up amongst the best films/series covering the holocaust. Outstanding acting from all the main characters coupled with the bleak scenery befitting the storyline, this is a 'must see' series. Be prepared to shed some tears. Be prepared to be ashamed of some of the human race, and be prepared to witness the power of love.

Beyond moved having experienced this incredible show. From the acting, music through to the raw pain and truth on display, absolutely blown away with this show. This is a true story, of one man's journey, that should be told the world over. We can never forget the horrors of the holocaust, and the Tattooist of Auschwitz is a crucial part of this.

The lengths the actors, directors and producers went to to do justice to those who endured the holocaust is commendable. Jewish actors for Jewish role, Polish for Polish etc. The piano music is also from an authentic piano from the 1940s belonging to the grandmother of the score composer. The detail in this show is phenomenal.