Lisa answers “If this is the true story of Lale and...”

Deanna asked this question about The Tattooist of Auschwitz:

If this is the true story of Lale and Gita, why is it being described as historical fiction?

Lisa One 'fact' that should have been checked (though I would have thought it was general knowledge) was that penicillin, mentioned on p82, was not availab…moreOne 'fact' that should have been checked (though I would have thought it was general knowledge) was that penicillin, mentioned on p82, was not available in 1943. It was discovered in 1928, but mass production proved very difficult and by 1942 researchers had just enough to treat ten patients. In July of 1943 the US was developing a plan to mass produce it, and by 1944 they had enough for military use on D-Day, but even if Lale had known about the existence of penicillin, the idea that there would have been any in the Auschwitz hospital is absurd, and so is his quest to get some. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicil...) says that the drug was not available for civilian use in the US till March 1945 and that Australia was the first country to make it available to the public after the war. (less)

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Heather In the "Additional Information" section, it notes that it was actually a precursor to penicillin that Gita referred to it as "prontocil". ...more
Mar 21, 2021 05:27AM · flag

Mary F As a reminder, any focus on the topic of penicillin is to fixate on a peculiar tree, which only helps Morris perpetuate deceits.

Recommend using 'deskt ...more
Mar 21, 2021 11:13AM · flag

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz

by Heather Morris (Goodreads Author)

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