Herr Doktor Josef Mengele Character Analysis in The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Josef Mengele is the doctor at Auschwitz-Birkenau. A twisted and deeply unsettling man, Mengele selects prisoners upon whom he carries out medical experiments. Lale fears Mengele more than anyone else in the camps, especially because Mengele emotionally torments him by suggesting that he will someday take him away. Instead of doing this, though, Mengele takes Leon as one of his subjects and castrates him before letting him rejoin Lale. Like the rest of the characters in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Mengele was a real person. He is now known for the sickening procedures and experiments he carried out on prisoners, particularly on child twins.

Herr Doktor Josef Mengele Character Timeline in The Tattooist of Auschwitz

The timeline below shows where the character Herr Doktor Josef Mengele appears in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Unity, Sacrifice, and Empathy Theme Icon

Knowledge, Uncertainty, and Power Theme Icon

...earshot, Baretski tells Lale that this man is the camp’s new doctor, Herr Doktor Josef Mengele. He notes that Lale will want to avoid Mengele as much as possible, admitting that... (full context)

Later that day, Lale hears Mengele’s whistling again, and it frightens him so much that he presses the needle too hard... (full context)

The following day, Lale and Leon are tattooing women again when Lale notices Mengele inspecting the prisoners and shoving them either to the right or the left. What Mengele... (full context)

...an enclosed area of the compound’s yard. The area is full of naked women whom Mengele has selected, and the fences surrounding them are no longer electrified so that they can’t... (full context)

At one point, Mengele appears next to Lale and, with his nauseating smile, says, “One day soon, Tätowierer, I... (full context)

...build his strength back up. In response, Leon says that he’s lost his appetite because Mengele castrated him. Reeling in horror, Lale can’t believe his ears, but Leon apologizes for shocking... (full context)

The next day, Lale and Leon are tattooing prisoners when Mengele appears and he begins examining the new arrivals. Eventually, he approaches Lale and he says... (full context)