This is Zoe and her motorbike Mabel. Original Photography was by Derek Cutting from Firemate Photographics – when I saw his image of his war bike (LOVE that bike) and his model, it screamed Zoe at me. Well Lucia decided to recreate it for me and it’s AMAZING. Yes I have a desire to ride one of these gorgeous machines but driving a bike in Sydney is a suicide mission. I let Zoe ride instead – you can’t get killed riding a bike in a story…not unless the writer wants it to happen!
A Jewish tailor was advised to flee Denmark in 1943 by a German client. But why would this leading Nazi defy Hitler?
When Alexander Bodin Saphir’s Jewish grandfather was measuring a high-ranking Nazi for a suit in Copenhagen 75 years ago he got an important tip-off – the Jews were about to be rounded up and deported. It has often been described as a “miracle” that most of Denmark’s Jews escaped the Holocaust. Now it seems that the country’s Nazi rulers deliberately sabotaged their own operation.
The following is from Deadline: The company, which is producing forthcoming Jenna Coleman-fronted BBC drama The Cry, won the hotly contest auction for the book, which was published by imprints Echo and Zaffre – part of Bonnier Books UK – in January 2018.
The series is already in development and Synchronicity hopes that it will be ready to air in January 2020, to tie in with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Jacquelin Perske, who adapted The Cry and wrote Australian drama Seven Types of Ambiguity, is attached to write.The book tells the true story of Lale Sokolov, a Jewish prisoner who was given the job of tattooing identification numbers on prisoners’ arms in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War Two. One day, he met Gita while she was waiting in line to be tattooed and it was love at first sight. And so began one of the most life-affirming, courageous, unforgettable and human stories of the Holocaust and a tale of the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.
Claire Mundell, founder and creative director at Synchronicity Films, struck the deal for the book rights with CAA, which represented Bonnier Books UK. She said, “We are beyond thrilled to have secured the rights to this incredibly brilliant, confronting and uplifting book. I fell in love with it within a few pages and was desperate to bring it to the screen, to reach the widest audience possible for this unforgettable story. There was a huge amount of interest in this title and I am grateful that Heather Morris, Bonnier Books UK and CAA responded so well to our vision for the story.”
Author Morris added, “Lale Sokolov placed a great deal of trust in me when he first shared his story. I am now passing that baton on and am so pleased that Synchronicity Films was successful in negotiating for the rights. Claire and her colleagues have an obvious passion for my book and have demonstrated clear sensitivity to producing a real person’s story. I know Lale will be smiling down at this new phase of his and Gita’s story”.
The #1 International Bestseller & New York Times Bestseller
This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity.
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
I was listening to a radio interview on Sydney radio today with Noni Hazelhurst (I LOVE Noni) and she’s talking about her new movie “Ladies in Black” which is set in a department store in 1950’s Australia. Sounds like a fabulous movie and something I touch on my fiction series as well especially in my latest “Mabel of the Anzacs”. Can’t wait to see this!
Hard to watch documentary but a must watch. We must NEVER let this happen again.
A documentary from the book by Photini Tomai (Constantopoulou)
“Greeks in Auschwitz-Birkenau” HSA – Holocaust Social Archive
Auschwitz Birkenau - The Revolt of the Greek JewsA documentary from the book by Photini Tomai (Constantopoulou)"Greeks in Auschwitz-Birkenau"HSA - Holocaust Social Archive
Last month I watched the series “Band of Brothers” which was set during WW2. Episode 9 had one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen in a tv show. The Americans liberate Dachau concentration camp.
The US Holocaust Museum has posted Letters from Liberators On May 3, 1945, US soldier Elmer Joachim recorded his reactions to visiting Dachau after liberation. The letters have been scanned and you can view below the video. POWERFUL. MOVING.
Watch:
In April and May 1945, Allied forces liberated thousands of prisoners from Nazi concentration camps. Soldiers who had read and heard reports of Nazi crimes now confronted the evidence first hand. Shocked, angered, and horrified by what they saw, they recorded their observations in reports to their superiors and letters home to loved ones so as to ensure that others would know the truth about what they had seen. Historic film footage, artifacts from our collections, and oral histories provide further documentation of liberators’ experiences at the end of World War II.
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