The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Episode 5

Episode 5 of The Tattooist of Auschwitz begins in May 1944. Air raid sirens wail as the officers decide to start searching through bunks for several inmates… who have seemingly escaped. Gita speaks to Lali and believes that the end is near, and that it won’t be long before they’ll be free.

We then cut forward to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in September 1944. Lali and Baretzki walk together but the former is in somewhat of a daze. He continues to tattoo new inmates but the guards definitely sense something is going on. In fact, one of the Jewish prisoners grows bold and tries to attack the guards with the tattoo pen. Of course, hes beaten down and it’s Baretzki who kills the guy, choking him out with his boot.

This moment right here is a harsh reminder of how close Lali came to this fate several episodes ago when Stefan Baretzki choked him out. Lali though, is haunted by his past, which has its fair share of guilt-riddled moments. Lali was actually paid by the SS for his services, and he’s guilty over how he continued to do the guard’s bidding, ever-obedient given his chance encounters with Gita, which Baretzki helps to organize.

In the women’s bunks, Gita learns that one of the women over in the textile department, Esther, is pregnant. She’s been hiding this for a while and she’s 7 or 8 months along. Unfortunately, the guard is aware of this and the only solution is to sweettalk (see: bribe) her into keeping quiet. Gita speaks to her that night, handing over a mass of contraband. It’s enough for her to agree, despite the risk of being shot in the head herself, and the girl is allowed to stay rather than being taken to the infirmary. However, she has to stay quiet and out of sight.

Well for a while anyway. It soon comes time for labour and the inmates work together – led by Gita – to help the poor woman give birth to her beautiful child. Esther has named her Mimi and as Lali talks, he admits that she lived to become a grandmother back in the present day. Gita always believed in the goodness of people like he did… but there’s a problem. During this segment, one of the guards calls out Esther’s number. Now, given she’s just given birth, one of Gita’s friends decides to take her place, knowing exactly what this means.

Meanwhile, Lali learns that one of the inmates who escaped months back has returned in the camp. In confidence, he reveals that they made it to Slovakia, where nobody believed them over the reality of the camps. They had to retell their story constantly but when they did accept it, they told them the testimonies would be sent to the Allies. Right now, there’s no word on whether they’re coming.

The man was arrested in Bratislava, where he gave a fake name. As for Lali, he thanks the guy for his bravery and decides to tattoo over the previous number (which nobody else has seen thankfully). What he’s done, has saved millions, and Lali tattoos a rose over it, which is enough to allow the man to live to become an old man.

As for Lali, he’s contemplating whether he even deserves a book on his experience. He’s having second thoughts about everything… prompting Heather to compose her thoughts and points out that the world needs this story. Despite his wavering faith, they both promise to be there for each other.

Back in the camps, things are clearly nearing the end. The women are forced to burn all the documents outside the administration building in burning barrels. There are plans being made to evacuate and move camps, away from the advancing Allies. Cilka and Gita are given information on this, while Baretzki is also told to leave camp too. Lali gives him some solid advice though, telling him never to give up.

There is panic in the camps, and a wide, aerial shot shows some of this in its ugly, horrific reality. Some of the inmates are being moved camps (which we heard about earlier) and among them happens to be Gita. Lali sees this from where he is on the other side of the electrified fences. The pair lock eyes and talk. He encourages her to get to Bratislava and find his old manager at his place of work. 

Lali promises to find her, just before Gita is put back in line and marched out, while all the men are left to watch this take place. That night, Baretzki and Lali sit together and talk about faith. In fact, the officer tells Lali that he’s like a brother to him and outstretches his hand. Lali doesn’t shake it though, and instead gets a wry smile and a “you’re a lucky shit” for his troubles.

We then cut forward with some exposition here. Lali explains in 2003 that he was taken to Mauthausen for a few weeks and then another camp and so on for a while. Unfortunately, he never saw Leon again as he saw a chance one day while working in the woods and decided to escape.

For the first time in 3 years, Lali ends up free. No guards follow him out in the woods and nobody comes after him. Instead, Lali ends up in Austria, as we hit March 1945. Lali wanders out and finds himself before a whole bunch of army personnel. He explains his story about the camps and begs for food. He’s given just that… but it turns out these men are part of the Red Army. Russians.

Th Russians take Lali inside after threatening him at gunpoint. They give him food and water, and it’s clear that Lali has lost a ton of weight. As he gorges himself on food, he weeps silently.

However, we cut back here to Poland in January 1945. Gita and the other inmates continue to walk onwards, doing their best to try and keep their friends and allies alive long enough to see the next day. And the next. And the next after that. It’s horrific, arduous and they struggle to keep themselves warm in the freezing cold. They huddle up together for warmth but in the morning, it’s time to move on again.

Unfortunately, Ivana passes away in the night. Gita takes her shoes and they’re forced to leave her behind, just lying there in the snow, as they keep marching onward. As they do, Gita takes her chance and runs for it for Hanna. The guards don’t follow, although they do shoot at the pair, but they manage to get away.

The Episode Review

The penultimate episode shows that everything is starting to come apart at the seams for the Germans. The burning of documents, the evacuation of the camps and the absolute chaotic nature of it all; both Gita and Lali seize their opportunities and manage to get away.

It’s clear that this final episode is going to (hopefully) see the pair reunite in unlikely circumstances. However, the unlikely chat between Lali and Baretzki is perhaps the most surprising inclusion here out of everything. Seeing him actually believe he’s friends with Lali and offer to shake his hand is something we definitely didn’t see coming from the way episode 1 plays out. Baretzki is still sadistic and his murderous antics cannot be forgiven but in a sick, twisted way, there’s some respect from him toward Lali.

However, with Lali now with the Russians, while Gita is off in parts unknown, we’ll have to wait and see how these two will manage to get back together here.