Haiti Reads Virtual Library

Illinois made history as the first state to outlaw book bans once and for all.

Marginalizing people, ideas, or facts has no place in our state — and they have no place in a democracy.

This National Library Week, we continue our commitment to free thought and free speech.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a haunting yet deeply human story about survival, guilt, and love in the most unimaginable place. Based on the life of Lale Sokolov, a prisoner forced to tattoo numbers onto fellow inmates at Auschwitz, the book explores how one small act of connection can preserve humanity in the face of systematic dehumanization.

When Lale tattoos the number 34902 onto Gita’s arm, he does more than mark her, he falls in love with her. Their relationship unfolds through stolen moments, smuggled food, and quiet promises to survive. Morris doesn’t romanticize the horrors of the camp; instead, she shows how love became Lale’s moral anchor while he lived with the burden of a role that saved his life but scarred his conscience.

The most powerful part of the story comes after the war, when Lale searches tirelessly for Gita, refusing to accept a world where she might be gone. Their eventual reunion and lifelong marriage transform the narrative from one of survival to one of enduring devotion.

This book is less about grand heroism and more about quiet resilience. It reminds readers that even in a place designed to erase identity and hope, remembering a name, rather than a number, can be an act of resistance.