Stars say 'Tattooist of Auschwitz' finds love, humanity amid Holocaust horror

NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- Jonah Hauer-King and Anna Próchniak say they felt a tremendous responsibility to honor the extraordinary lives and love of real-life married Holocaust survivors Lali and Gita Sokolov, the characters they play in the event series, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

"We wanted so much to tell this story respectfully, not to dilute it in any way, to make sure that the horror of what took place really comes across," Hauer-King told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"But, at the same time, what makes this story so unique is their love, and that is something I think readers connected with in the book. So, we wanted to ... honor it and kind of celebrate a choice of love and humanity over anything else."

Próchniak added, "It was about finding some light in the darkness."

The six-episode adaptation of Heather Morris' best-selling book premieres Thursday on Peacock.

It follows Lali after he was captured by the Nazis during World War II and given the loathsome task of tattooing identification numbers on his fellow Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1942.

This is where he meets Gita, and it is love at first sight for both of them. Throughout the series, they are seen repeatedly risking their lives to protect each other.

Jonas Nay plays Nazi SS officer Baretzki, while Harvey Keitel plays an older version of Lali, who narrates his story to writer Morris (Melanie Lynskey).

"We both read the book and we love the story. What I love about Gita is how multi-dimensional she is and how complex she is," Próchniak said.

"I think that her fragility is deeply moving and her strength is just amazing and she's vulnerable, but resilient, at the same time, She's a true inspiration and she's just great," she said.

The Little Mermaid and World On Fire alum Hauer-King remembered feeling deeply moved when he read The Tattooist of Auschwitz shortly after it was published in 2018.

"I was so struck by their story and was so invested in them and their love," Hauer-King said.

"I saw so much warmth and humanity in Lali, and found it so extraordinary that he was able to hold onto that in this time and was able to hold some small place in his heart to receive Gita's love and to be able to give it back," he said.

Hauer-King this was more than acting job for him.

"You feel like you're making something that has real meaning and has relevance," he added. "It was an incredible opportunity."

To prepare for her role, Próchniak watched the heart-wrenching, post-war court testimonials of Gita and other survivors.

"We also worked closely with historical and cultural consultants and we talked to Heather Morris about her experience telling Lali's story firsthand, which was very helpful. She was like, the closest connection to them for us," said Próchniak, who is known for her roles in Baptiste and The Innocents.

Hauer-King agreed.

"It was amazing speaking to her. We really got so much of a sense of Lali and of the man himself and everything that he told her about Gita, as well, things that aren't even included in the book," he said.

"We read so many survivors' accounts and we both had visited Auschwitz," the actor added. "It was about zeroing in on this story specifically and trying to get to know Lali and Gita themselves."

Despite the dark and disturbing nature of the story they were telling, Próchniak said she and Hauer-King always felt supported by the rest of the cast and filmmakers.

"It was such a collective work," she said. "We were able to create this safe environment on the set."

"Everyone was aware that it was going to be really challenging and that going to that workplace every day was quite surreal and was going to have an impact on us," Hauer-King said.

"But we also were very mindful that we didn't want to make it about us. We had a job to do to tell this story, so I think the vibe inevitably was different than a normal set and the atmosphere did feel different, but at the same time, we knew what we were there to do. I think we were all committed to that."

Letting these characters and story go was difficult for the actors.

Próchniak described the job as "very impactful."

"It's such a formative experience," Hauer-King said. "I think it was unlike anything either of us had ever done before, so it's definitely staying with us."