next to the barracks - which suggests that they are newly arrived prisoners awaiting registration at the camp. However, if they were people who had been accepted into the camp, they should have been divided by gender, meanwhile both men and women can be seen in the row. Baretzki reassures one of the women by saying that she will soon be taken to the delivery ward ('Maternity'). When asked by Lali where such a ward is located, Baretzki replies that this is what they tell pregnant women, then adds "I don't see any babies here. Do you?"("That's what we tell the pregnant ones. I don't see any babies around here. Do you?").
A viewer would surmise that a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy would not have successfully passed the selection process and was sent to her death. So, are the individuals dressed in regular clothes meant to symbolise the Jews who were murdered in the gas chambers immediately upon their arrival at Auschwitz? If that's the case, how they have been portrayed is flawed because it is historically incorrect.
In the years 1942, 1943, and early 1944, transports coordinated by RSHA were delivered to the ramp situated within the freight station between the Auschwitz I and Birkenau camps. Subsequently, Jews condemned to death during the selection process were escorted or transported to the gas chambers using paths located beyond the confines of the designated camp zone, thus preventing any interaction with fellow prisoners in the camp.
Furthermore, starting from May 1944, the residential areas assigned for prisoners were off-limits to Jews sent to the gas chambers once the internal ramp within the Birkenau camp became operational . Meanwhile, during the reception of the transport, the prisoners in the camp were not permitted to approach the ramp unless they were designated to perform duties such as aiding in the relocation of people from the wagons, organising their formation, and cleaning up the belongings left by the victims. Thus, the inclusion of scenes featuring Jews in civilian attire standing in rows behind the tattooing Lali (episode 5), amidst barracks or alongside prisoners during roll call is deemed inauthentic and misguided if these characters are meant to convey an image of the Holocaust.
Regrettably, the series failed to portray the Holocaust, a significant historical event characterised by the mass deportation of entire Jewish communities, districts, and towns from diverse European countries to Auschwitz, followed by their subsequent transfer directly from the wagons to the gas chambers. In one scene, the viewer will see that female prisoners in striped uniforms are being led to the gas chamber, where they perish. In another previously mentioned scene of identifying bodies in the gas chamber, they will likely notice people in civilian clothes standing under the crematorium building. At the same time, from this sequence, they will learn that the people murdered in the gas chambers have tattooed numbers on their forearms – indicating that they had previously been registered at the camp and are prisoners. In other parts, viewers will also see that prisoners and female prisoners selected during selections, such as Aron, are taken to the gas chamber. However, they will not see that hundreds of thousands of Jewish women, men, and children are directed to death without any registration process. They will not learn that from 1942, the purpose of Auschwitz's existence was the systematically planned and industrially implemented mass genocide, as a result of which all territories under German influence were to be "cleansed" of Jews.
The Holocaust in the series, similarly to the book, assumes a secondary role at best. It is purely a backdrop for Lali and Gita's love story. Moreover, the background is blurred to the extent that it is nearly imperceptible. Lali and Gita take the forefront as the main characters, while the Jewish presence is subtly integrated into the backdrop. They are the ones who capture all the attention of the viewer. The individuals behind them are simply elements of the scenery, rarely drawing the viewer's focus, and the tragic events they faced in Auschwitz are left largely unexpressed. The secondary importance of these characters is evident when considering that they can be easily removed from behind the main characters, erased from the background, and replaced with the camp barracks, all without significant script changes. The only part that would require correction is the narrative of Tomasz, the supporting character, whose pregnant wife was taken to Auschwitz and tragically died.
Surprisingly, the series creators have treated other aspects of KL Auschwitz's history with such literalness, yet they have left the most tragic and crucial part merely implied. This mainly refers to the direct portrayal of the matter of physiology. The literal portrayal of Gita and her friends' use of the latrine (ditch) and the scene depicting a prisoner suffering diarrhoea from relieving himself in a standing position, with a camera zooming in on the excrement streaming down his legs, is both nauseating and dehumanising to the victims. Naturally, one could contend that this portrayal reflects the reality of the camp. However, considering the overall lack of authenticity in the other themes depicted in the series, the elements of turpism in these scenes appear to be a deliberate technique aimed at provoking shock rather than conveying any meaningful truth about the suffering of the KL Auschwitz prisoners. An analogous accusation can be made regarding the scene in which an impulsive SS officer strikes a young girl during the liquidation of the Zigeunerlager. The viewer is confronted with the macabre through brutal, undoubtedly impressive, and unforgettable scenes. It is difficult to state the creators' intentions unequivocally; however, it is certainly easy to point out the consequences of disseminating such images. There is no educational value in depicting the brutality of camp reality. Such representations do not trigger the viewer's imagination but evoke feelings like disgust, revulsion, horror, anger, and fear in a fleeting moment. Meanwhile, these depictions do not offer any new insights about Auschwitz; instead, they present the phenomena in a manner that may exceed the emotional preparedness of the average viewer. By gradually introducing more violent images, they familiarise the viewer with such visuals, thus pushing the boundaries of their emotional response.
As a matter of fact, this is just one facet of a broader problem concerning education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, which has been recognised for a long time and continues to hold relevance in today's society. The crux of this issue is finding a middle ground between factual communication and emotional impact, ensuring empathy grows as knowledge deepens instead of fading away. The series The Tattooist of Auschwitz primarily aims to create a strong emotional impact, prioritising the emotional aspect rather than presenting factual information. The audience becomes emotionally invested in the destiny of the primary characters and profoundly engages with their experiences. I will leave the question of whether "experiencing" also entails "understanding", particularly in cases where the story deviates from historical truth, open for discussion.