Ana is a dedicated Catholic midwife in her mid-fifties living in Łódź, Poland. Deeply principled and compassionate, she views the safe delivery of every baby as a miraculous injection of hope into the world. Following the German invasion, her outrage at the occupying forces pushes her to secretly aid the sequestered Jewish community and risk her life for the Polish resistance.

Ester is a young Jewish nursing student whose life and new marriage are immediately upended by the onset of World War II. Confined to the Łódź ghetto, she matures quickly, becoming the primary breadwinner and one of the few medical providers for her family. She is resourceful and driven by a fierce desire to protect her loved ones.

Filip is a talented young Jewish tailor in Łódź who falls deeply in love with Ester. When the occupying forces forbid Jewish tailors from working, he adapts by managing domestic duties and secretly altering clothing to provide for his family. He remains fiercely devoted to Ester, holding onto their love as his primary motivation for survival.

Bartek is a printer, a faithful Christian, and a Polish patriot. Known for his jovial and calm demeanor, he frequently de-escalates tense situations that might otherwise end in violence. He fully supports his wife's courageous actions and utilizes his printing skills to produce false identification papers for the resistance.

Klara is a Jewish prisoner who acts as a ruthless overseer in the camp's maternity unit. A former midwife who lost her certification, she eagerly enforces the inhumane dictates of her Nazi handlers. Her willingness to commit cruel acts against her fellow prisoners makes her a constant, terrifying threat to the women under her control.

Naomi is a sixteen-year-old Jewish girl of Greek descent from Salonika. Despite the horrific realities of her internment, she maintains a bubbly, optimistic personality that frequently elevates the mood of her fellow prisoners. She leverages her position working in the camp's storage facility to secretly acquire small resources for her friends.

Ruth is the devoted mother of Ester and Leah. As the Jewish population is forced into the Łódź ghetto, she focuses entirely on the safety of her daughters. She is willing to endure personal physical harm and make profound sacrifices to ensure her children can escape the worst of their captors' wrath.

Mordecai is the protective father of Ester and Leah. He struggles alongside his wife to shield their family as their rights, home, and safety are systematically stripped away during the occupation.

Leah is Ester's fifteen-year-old younger sister. Initially somewhat naive to the extreme dangers around her, her beauty catches the unwanted attention of a German officer. Her precarious situation forces her family to take desperate risks to smuggle her out of the city before she is assaulted.

Bronislaw is the eldest son of Ana and Bartek Kaminski. He shares his parents' deep outrage at the German occupation and quietly supports their efforts to resist the injustices taking place in their city.

Zander is the middle son of Ana and Bartek Kaminski. He bravely uses the city trams to smuggle essential food, medicine, and supplies to the suffering population trapped inside the sealed ghetto.

Jakub is the youngest son of Ana and Bartek Kaminski. He actively contributes to the family's secret resistance work by using his skills to help forge life-saving false documents for those trying to escape.

Benjamin is Filip's father. He and his wife move into the cramped, tense confines of the ghetto apartment with their son and new daughter-in-law, facing the sudden deprivations of the occupation together.

Sarah is Filip's mother. She relies closely on her son and Ester as the Jewish community of Łódź is forced into increasingly desperate living conditions, suffering heavily from the severe food shortages.

Hans is a German officer who works at the Baluty Market office. He exploits his position of power to make predatory sexual advances toward his fifteen-year-old employee, Leah, forcing her family to take drastic action to hide her.

Mala is a resourceful, multilingual prisoner who works as an interpreter. She bravely uses her mobility to locate and smuggle outside mail to her fellow inmates, providing them with crucial emotional lifelines and maintaining their hope for survival.

Edek is a prisoner in the camp and Mala's boyfriend. He conspires with her to plan a daring escape from their captors, representing a brief flare of hope for the other inmates.

Doktor Rohde is a powerful Nazi officer stationed at Birkenau. With a single gesture, he makes the terrifying, arbitrary decisions regarding which arriving prisoners will be assigned to labor and which will face immediate execution.

Irma Grese is a notoriously sadistic Nazi camp matron. She takes vicious pleasure in psychologically and physically tormenting the female prisoners, often orchestrating cruel displays to mock their faith and humanity.

Dr. Mengele is a terrifying Nazi physician stationed at the camp. He prowls the maternity block looking for newborn subjects to use in his horrific and lethal medical experiments, creating a constant state of dread for the midwives.

Maria Mandel is a high-ranking, merciless Nazi matron. She strictly enforces the camp's deadly protocols and ensures that any prisoner who defies the administration is met with ultimate punishment.

Pfani is a camp prisoner who has been interned since childhood. Working as a subordinate to Klara, she is tasked with tattooing the non-Jewish babies before eventually seeking a transfer to the camp brothel.

Chaim Rumkowski is the Jewish elder appointed by the Germans to act as a spokesman within the Łódź ghetto. He is forced to deliver the occupying army's devastating relocation orders to his fellow citizens, drawing their bitter resentment.

Martha is a frightened woman relocated to the Łódź ghetto from the countryside. When she goes into labor upon arriving, Ester steps in to help her safely deliver her child under incredibly harsh conditions.

Dr. Węgierska is a Polish physician from Warsaw who was sent to the concentration camp for treating Jewish patients. She uses her medical expertise to help Ana and Ester establish a functional maternity area despite their lack of supplies.

Alma Rose is an Austrian Jewish prisoner who courageously leads a musical group within the camp. Her music provides a rare, sustaining moment of beauty and psychological resistance for the despairing inmates.

Zofia is a young Polish Jewish widow interned in the camp. She gives birth to a blonde baby girl, forcing her to confront the terrifying reality of the camp's child-stealing programs.