Love did not stand in the way of the fear of death in the Nazi camp
Living in the middle of death can make some love? When everyone is busy saving their own lives, can anyone worry about another person's life?
That's exactly what happened during Hitler's reign, one of Hitler's death camps in Auschwitz, Poland.
One of the greatest crimes against humanity is thought to have taken place in the Auschwitz camp, where thousands of people were burned to death in gas chambers.
Thousands died of starvation and cold. Hitler's forces from all over Europe were recruited by members of the SS and sent to the camps. That horror came to an end in 1945 when the Soviet Union occupied Auschwitz.
Ludwig Lel Eisenberg
The people who came to this camp were first stripped of their identities. They had no name since they entered the camp. Instead, a number was written on their arm. That would be his identity.
And a prisoner with the number 32406 used to tattoo that arm and write that name. Heather Morris recently wrote a book about the man, entitled The Tattoo of Achest.
The real name of this prisoner is Ludwig Lel Eisenberg. He was born in Slovakia in 1918. He died in 2006. But before that, he told the story of that love to Heather Morr
Ludwig Lel Eisenberg's tattoo
The life of the camp tattoo artist
When he was 26, one day in 1942, Nazi police came and took him away from home.
After arriving at the Auschwitz camp, Lel, like the others, was given a tattoo. Then a French tattoo artist named Papen hired her as his assistant.
One day Papen disappears. Lel never knew what had happened to him. However, due to his knowledge of Slovakian, German, Russian, French, Hungarian, etc., he became a major tattoo artist.
When the new prisoner arrived, his only job was to get a tattoo on his hand. That is why he got some more benefits than other prisoners. He lived in a single room, received full rations, ate in the administrative building.
But he never considered himself an ally of the Nazis. Because what he did, he was forced to do only to save his own life.
Over the next two years, Lel wrote hundreds of tattooed numbers. After drawing numbers by hand, they were sent to various jobs. However, those who were sent to the gas chambers were no longer tattooed on their hands.
Tattoo pictures of Auschwitz camp
Prisoner number 34902
One day in 1942, he was given a new number. That number was 34902. It's one thing to get a tattoo on a man's hand, but when he touches a young woman's slender hand, he hesitates. But he knew he had to do it to save his life.
When the young woman's eyes fell on him, something happened.
Much later he would tell this story to Morris, when he would tell, when he was drawing tattoos on that hand, as if he were carving on his own heart.
He knows, his name is Gita. She lived in the women's camp Birkenau.
Later, with the help of his personal SS guard, Lell began writing letters to the guitarist.
Picture of Auschwitz camp taken from above
He also started taking care of the guitar. He would send food for the guitar from his allotted ration, give hope and even arrange a good job for him.
In addition to Gita, Lel has helped many other prisoners. Many prisoners gave their gold ornaments and money to Lel, who collected them with the villagers and gave them to the prisoners.
Gita was one of those released when the Russians began expelling Auschwitz. But Lell didn't know what the guitar's full name was, where he went or where he came from.
Lel later returned home from camp
Child prisoners in Auschwitz
Again the union of the four eyes
After returning home, the guitar look was floating in Lel's eyes. He still had only this thought in his mind, where will you find Gita.
In search of a guitar, he spent days at the Bratislava train station, where the surviving prisoners returned home. Later, on the advice of the station master, he left for the Red Crescent camp.
On the way to the camp, a woman blocked her way. Familiar bright eyes, familiar look.
Gitai found him.
New prisoners arriving in Auschwitz
Finally the new address
The couple married in October 1945. They then changed their last name and settled in Czechoslovakia.
Lell successfully started a clothing store. Besides, they were sending them to raise money to establish an Israeli state. When the government found out, Lell was arrested.
After being released, the couple moved to Australia. Then Melbourne is their new address. Lel started a new clothing business there and Gita Fuhrmanova started designing.
Gita Fuhrmanova
But he never revealed this story or revealed his real name. Because they feared that if it became known, people would judge him as an ally of the Nazis.
The couple has one child. That's where they spend the rest of their lives.
Gita, of course, went to Europe a few times later, but Lell never went outside of Australia again.
Only a few very close people know the love story of this couple.