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Gita
Baretski is the Nazi officer assigned to guard Lale. In this capacity, he tells Lale that he will severely punish him if he ever does anything that will reflect poorly on Baretski himself, since Baretski doesn’t want to get in trouble with his boss, Oberscharführer Houstek. At the same time, Baretski also periodically gives Lale advice about how to stay safe, noting that Lale’s new position as the tattooist will generally protect him from random acts of violence, though he adds that he has the power to kill Lale whenever he wants. Still, Baretski is just a young man who lacks much in the way of education, and he takes a liking to Lale, often confiding in him. To that end, he talks about his personal life, asking Lale for advice about his relationship with his girlfriend. When he learns that Lale has feelings for Gita, he offers to pass notes between the two prisoners, thereby helping them establish a relationship. Furthermore, he agrees to do Lale a favor in the aftermath of Gita’s severe illness, pulling strings to have her transferred to a job in the administration building so she can keep warm. In this way, Baretski demonstrates that he is capable of kindness, though he also frequently proves his profound lack of empathy by randomly killing prisoners or laughing at even the most troubling sights. Because of this, Lale hopes that Baretski won’t survive his post at Auschwitz-Birkenau, certain the man will burn in hell even if he sometimes exhibits flashes of kindness.
Baretski Quotes in The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The The Tattooist of Auschwitz quotes below are all either spoken by Baretski or refer to Baretski. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
“Very nice,” Baretski says as he and Lale walk away. Lale ignores him and fights to control the hatred he feels.
“Would you like to meet her?” Again, Lale refuses to respond.
“Write to her, tell her you like her.”
How stupid does he think I am?
“I’ll get you paper and a pencil and bring her your letter. What do you say? Do you know her name?”
4562.
Lale walks on. He knows that the penalty for a prisoner caught with a pen or paper is death.
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Chapter 4
Quotes
Lale turns to him. “Do you have a sister?”
“Yeah,” says Baretski, “two.”
“Is how you treat women the way you want other men to treat your sisters?”
“Anyone does that to my kid sister and I’ll kill them.” Baretski pulls his pistol from its holster and fires several shots into the air. “I’ll kill them.”
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Lale finds out that Baretski isn’t German but was born in Romania, in a small town near the border of Slovakia, only a few hundred miles from Lale’s hometown of Krompachy. He ran away from home to Berlin and joined the Hitler Youth and then the SS. He hates his father, who used to beat him and his brothers and sisters viciously. He is worried about his sisters, one younger, one older, who still live at home.
Later that night as they walk back to Birkenau, Lale says quietly, “I’ll take your offer of paper and pencil, if you don’t mind. Her number is 4562.”
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Get the entire The Tattooist of Auschwitz LitChart as a printable PDF.
Baretski Quotes in The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The The Tattooist of Auschwitz quotes below are all either spoken by Baretski or refer to Baretski. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
“Very nice,” Baretski says as he and Lale walk away. Lale ignores him and fights to control the hatred he feels.
“Would you like to meet her?” Again, Lale refuses to respond.
“Write to her, tell her you like her.”
How stupid does he think I am?
“I’ll get you paper and a pencil and bring her your letter. What do you say? Do you know her name?”
4562.
Lale walks on. He knows that the penalty for a prisoner caught with a pen or paper is death.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4
Quotes
Lale turns to him. “Do you have a sister?”
“Yeah,” says Baretski, “two.”
“Is how you treat women the way you want other men to treat your sisters?”
“Anyone does that to my kid sister and I’ll kill them.” Baretski pulls his pistol from its holster and fires several shots into the air. “I’ll kill them.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Lale finds out that Baretski isn’t German but was born in Romania, in a small town near the border of Slovakia, only a few hundred miles from Lale’s hometown of Krompachy. He ran away from home to Berlin and joined the Hitler Youth and then the SS. He hates his father, who used to beat him and his brothers and sisters viciously. He is worried about his sisters, one younger, one older, who still live at home.
Later that night as they walk back to Birkenau, Lale says quietly, “I’ll take your offer of paper and pencil, if you don’t mind. Her number is 4562.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
