When Does "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" (2018) Take Place?
"The Tattooist of Auschwitz" is a romantic historical fiction novel written by Heather Morris that released January 11th, 2018. So when is "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" set?
It takes place in the years:
We know this because the main character is closely based on the real-world Jewish genocide victim Ludwig “Lale” Eisenberg (1916-2006). He arrives at the Nazi concentration camp complex Auschwitz very early in the story and this happened in the real world on April 23rd, 1942 AD. So it’s April of 1942 AD at the start.
1942 AD - 1943 AD
We know this because the main character is closely based on the real-world Jewish genocide victim Ludwig “Lale” Eisenberg (1916-2006). He arrives at the Nazi concentration camp complex Auschwitz very early in the story and this happened in the real world on April 23rd, 1942 AD. So it’s April of 1942 AD at the start.
Furthermore, as chapter one begins, there is a heading reading "April 1942" under the bold "1".
Soon this labeling technique repeats as chapter "3" includes a subheading on its first page reading "July 1942".
About a third into the narrative, just before chapter 7, the reader (and Lale) learn the next calendar year has arrived from this exchange with a local laborer named Victor: "Victor whispers, 'Happy New Year.' Lale trudges away, the snow now falling heavily and covering the camp. 1943 has begun." It must now be January of 1943 AD.
About a third into the narrative, just before chapter 7, the reader (and Lale) learn the next calendar year has arrived from this exchange with a local laborer named Victor: "Victor whispers, 'Happy New Year.' Lale trudges away, the snow now falling heavily and covering the camp. 1943 has begun." It must now be January of 1943 AD.
Furthermore, chapter nine includes a sub-heading that reads "March 1943" under the "9".
Additionally, very early on in the book there is a vague flashback to happier days presumably before World War II, which started in 1939 AD. The real-world Ludwig Eisenberg was born on October 28th, 1916 AD in the real world. So this is most likely between late 1919 AD when he started to develop permanent memories and 1939 AD when the war started. This flashback is otherwise unplaceable.
There is also an “EPILOGUE” which quickly covers the years 1945 AD (), though 1949 AD (), .
Morris has attested the work is based primarily on "three years" of interviews with the real-world Lale and "Lale’s memories were, on the whole, remarkably clear and precise. They matched my research into people, dates, and places." Eisenberg changed his last name to Sokolov in 1945 AD in an attempt to better assimilate within Czechoslovakia while it was under Russian Soviet control. Penicillin is used in chapter 7 and it has been pointed out that this is unlikely though not impossible as penicillin was re-discovered in the real world in 1928 AD but not fully developed until 1942 AD and not widely used in Europe until after World War II. This could be seen as a production mistake or an indication penicillin was discovered or developed earlier or faster in the fictional world (diegesis) of "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" or simply tremendous luck that Lale had heard of the medication and Victor has access to it. These and other inconsistencies exist but the broad strokes of the timeframe do line up with real world events.
It was adapted to TV in 2024.
