Auschwitz tattoos remain one of the most recognisable symbols of the camp system. A number replaced a name, and a few digits carried more information than any registration card. Unlike other German camps, Auschwitz was the only site where prisoners were permanently marked with an identification number on their skin. Why was this done, when did it start, and who was affected?
Why tattoos were introduced
Prisoner numbers in Auschwitz were never reused. Each new arrival received the next number in sequence. For historians today, Auschwitz tattoos can reveal an approximate arrival date, the transport of origin, and sometimes even survival chances in a given period.
Tattooing was introduced gradually to fix serious registration problems—clothes with numbers could be swapped, lost, or stolen, making it difficult to identify the dead. While some have suggested it was about preventing escape, surviving documents don’t support that as the main reason.
For a clear explanation of when tattooing began and who was included or excluded, see the Auschwitz Museum’s podcast on tattooing numbers and the USHMM overview of the numbering system.
When tattooing began
The process unfolded over more than a year:
- Late 1941 – the first tattoos were applied to Soviet POWs, initially on the chest.
- Spring 1942 – extended to the most debilitated prisoners in the camp hospital and Jews selected for forced labour from RSHA transports.
- Late 1942–early 1943 – tattooing became the norm for most registered prisoners.
- Spring 1943 – mass action: those already in the camp without tattoos were marked retroactively.
How tattoos were made
Early methods involved a metal stamp with small needles pressed into the chest, with ink rubbed into the punctures. Soon the system switched to a manual needle on the left forearm, which was easier to check during roll call. Infants and small children registered in the camp sometimes received tattoos on the thigh; in late 1943, some transports were marked high on the inner arm.
Tattooing was carried out by prisoner registration details (Aufnahmekommando). There was no single “tattooist of Auschwitz.” Lale Sokolov, the man later portrayed in the bestselling novel, did work as a Tätowierer, but he was only one among several prisoners assigned to this role, often with assistants. Read more about the book and its historical accuracy here: The Tattooist of Auschwitz – True Story.
Number series and extra markings
Different number series of Auschwitz tattoos were introduced for separate prisoner groups. Letters could be added: A and B for Jewish transports in 1944, Z for Roma (Zigeuner). Some Soviet POWs had “AU” added. Because tattoos were done by hand, size and clarity varied, and mistakes were sometimes crossed out and corrected.
Who was and wasn’t tattooed
Only those formally registered for forced labour were tattooed. Those sent directly to the gas chambers never received a number.
Groups usually excluded included:
- Reich Germans and Volksdeutsche (with exceptions)
- “Educational prisoners” (Erziehungshäftlinge) – though some exceptions existed
- Police prisoners held in Block 11 unless transferred into the general registry
- Deportees from the Warsaw Uprising, as Auschwitz was mainly a transit point for them
- Children selected for germanisation
Both men and women were tattooed once registered. Infants who survived long enough to be entered into the records could also be tattooed, sometimes days after birth.
For more on the different groups and their experiences, see: Victims and Survivors of Auschwitz.
Where tattooing happened
Tattoos were applied wherever new arrivals were processed: registration blocks, washrooms, the Central Sauna at Birkenau (especially from mid-1943), hospital areas, and occasionally even outdoors when transports arrived in large numbers.
Health risks and postwar meaning
Conditions were unhygienic, and infections were common. After the war, some survivors chose to remove the Auschwitz tattoos; others kept them as visible testimony. Ironically, the mark intended to erase identity often helped restore it—these tattoos became vital evidence for identifying victims and tracing family members.
Today, the Auschwitz number stands alongside striped uniforms, barbed wire, and the Birkenau gate as one of the most powerful symbols of Nazi crimes.