The Tattooist of Auschwitz ending explained: Do Lali and Gita survive?

Sky Studios and Peacock's new historical drama series, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, was released on May 2, 2024. Based on the novel of the same name by Heather Morris, the story is inspired by true events that took place during the Holocaust in the 1940s.

Disclaimer: The article contains major spoilers ahead.

Lali Sokolov and Gita Furman are Slovakian Jews who met as prisoners in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. They first meet when Lali, while working as a tattooist, is tasked with tattooing an identification number on Gita's arm. Although the two fall in love, their relationship is challenged by the dark forces around them.

Lali also shares a complicated relationship with SS officer Stefan Baretzki. Although he is often tortured by the German soldier who participates in the murder of fellow prisoners, Baretzki also helps him get in contact with Gita several times throughout the series.

In episode 5, Lali and Gita are separated as they are forced to change camps due to the approaching Allied forces. At a new camp, Lali manages to escape and run to Austria, where he is found by Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, Gita and Hanna, who are in Poland, also run away and escape from the guards.

However, the final episode sees Lali and Gita reunite with each other, and they finally survive the horrors of the Holocaust.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz ending: How do Lali and Gita manage to stay alive?

A still from 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' (Image via Sky Atlantic)

In the final episode of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Lali finally gets to enjoy good food and clean clothes after being taken in by the Russians. However, their generosity comes at a cost. Lali is made to work as a pimp for the Russian soldiers.

He goes around town, inviting the women to a party. As incentives, they were promised "prizes,” which included cash and jewelry, and even married women were allowed to show up there. However, it is revealed that the women were being sexually assaulted by the Russian soldiers.

After weeks of patiently doing their bidding, Lali manages to gain the trust of the Russians, who finally leave him alone. While an officer is distracted inside a bar, he takes the opportunity to grab a bike and ride to Slovakia, back to his home.

There, he is reunited with his sister, who had been hiding all this time. After hearing his story about Gita, she gives him their mother's wedding ring to give to her. Now armed with a horse and carriage, Lali goes to Bratislava in search of Gita.

Meanwhile, Gita and Hanna manage to arrive at a nearby village. However, due to the presence of Russian soldiers, they are forced to hide. They face a horrific ordeal when one of the men attempts to force himself upon Hanna, but Gita smashes his head with a stick, and they manage to escape.

Lali reaches Bratislava and visits a church. There, he writes a note asking for Gita on a noticeboard, where hundreds of others have pinned their own messages. Gita also reaches the same place and looks over the noticeboard, but finds nothing. As she is about to give up, she hears Lali outside, and the couple finally reunites.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz finale: Do Lali and Gita get married in the end?

After Lali and Gita reunite and the war ends, they exchange vows and become husband and wife. However, their marriage had its share of troubles.

The couple is haunted by their past ordeals in the camp, and Lali suffers from survivor's guilt. They move to Australia to start a new life under new identities, but Gita misses Europe and longs to go back. Due to the nightmares and sadness surrounding them, she is unable to bear children.

When a letter arrives from Germany asking Lali to defend Stefan Baretzki, who was on trial for war crimes, a rift forms between the couple as Lali is conflicted about the situation.

Ultimately, Gita goes back to Europe to visit Mimi. However, she comes back with the good news that she is pregnant, and the couple begins a new life as a family.

In the present day, an older Lali is haunted by different visions from his past. However, his final vision is that of Gita with their newborn son. As he lies down next to them on the bed, he closes his eyes and takes his last breath.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz ending: What happens to Stefan Baretzki?

When a letter from a German law firm representing Stefan Baretzki arrives for Lali, it is revealed that he has been arrested for war crimes. Due to their past connection in the concentration camp, the letter requested Lali's statement in his defense.

This puts Lali in a dilemma. On one hand, Baretzki had helped Lali while he was in the camp and offered him privileges that other prisoners did not get. Lali also believes that the only reason he is still alive is because of Baretzki. However, the SS guard was still complicit in the torture and murder of Jews during the war.

Ultimately, Lali chooses not to defend Baretzki in his letter and confesses the German soldier's crimes that he had witnessed in the camp. This leads to Stefan Baretzki's life imprisonment, and he eventually takes his own life in prison.

All six episodes of The Tattooist of Auschwitz are available to stream on Peacock, Sky Atlantic, and NOW.

Edited by Dev Sharma