Lucy Adlington tells of the horrors of the Nazi occupation and the
concentration camps from a fascinating and original angle. She introduces us
to a little known aspect of the period, highlighting the role of clothes in
the grimmest of societies imaginable and giving an insight into the women who
stayed alive by stitching’ – Alexandra Shulman, author of Clothes…and other
things that matter ‘Compelling… Adlington tells the stories of the women with
clarity and steely precision’ – Jewish Chronicle ‘An utterly absorbing,
important and unique historical read’ – Judy Batalion, NY Times bestselling
author of The Light of Our Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters
in Hitler’s Ghettos ‘Powerful… a fascinating account.’ – Woman The powerful
chronicle of the women who used their sewing skills to survive the Holocaust,
stitching beautiful clothes at an extraordinary fashion workshop created
within one of the most notorious WWII death camps. At the height of the
Holocaust twenty-five young inmates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau
concentration camp – mainly Jewish women and girls – were selected to design,
cut, and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women in a dedicated salon. It
was work that they hoped would spare them from the gas chambers. This fashion
workshop – called the Upper Tailoring Studio – was established by Hedwig Höss,
the camp commandant’s wife, and patronized by the wives of SS guards and
officers. Here, the dressmakers produced high-quality garments for SS social
functions in Auschwitz, and for ladies from Nazi Berlin’s upper crust. Drawing
on diverse sources – including interviews with the last surviving seamstress –
The Dressmakers of Auschwitz follows the fates of these brave women. Their
bonds of family and friendship not only helped them endure persecution, but
also to play their part in camp resistance. Weaving the dressmakers’
remarkable experiences within the context of Nazi policies for plunder and
exploitation, historian Lucy Adlington exposes the greed, cruelty, and
hypocrisy of the Third Reich and offers a fresh look at a little-known chapter
of World War II and the Holocaust.
Lucy Adlington tells of the horrors of the Nazi occupation and the
concentration camps from a fascinating and original angle. She introduces us
to a little known aspect of the period, highlighting the role of clothes in
the grimmest of societies imaginable and giving an insight into the women who
stayed alive by stitching’ – Alexandra Shulman, author of Clothes…and other
things that matter ‘Compelling… Adlington tells the stories of the women with
clarity and steely precision’ – Jewish Chronicle ‘An utterly absorbing,
important and unique historical read’ – Judy Batalion, NY Times bestselling
author of The Light of Our Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters
in Hitler’s Ghettos ‘Powerful… a fascinating account.’ – Woman The powerful
chronicle of the women who used their sewing skills to survive the Holocaust,
stitching beautiful clothes at an extraordinary fashion workshop created
within one of the most notorious WWII death camps. At the height of the
Holocaust twenty-five young inmates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau
concentration camp – mainly Jewish women and girls – were selected to design,
cut, and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women in a dedicated salon. It
was work that they hoped would spare them from the gas chambers. This fashion
workshop – called the Upper Tailoring Studio – was established by Hedwig Höss,
the camp commandant’s wife, and patronized by the wives of SS guards and
officers. Here, the dressmakers produced high-quality garments for SS social
functions in Auschwitz, and for ladies from Nazi Berlin’s upper crust. Drawing
on diverse sources – including interviews with the last surviving seamstress –
The Dressmakers of Auschwitz follows the fates of these brave women. Their
bonds of family and friendship not only helped them endure persecution, but
also to play their part in camp resistance. Weaving the dressmakers’
remarkable experiences within the context of Nazi policies for plunder and
exploitation, historian Lucy Adlington exposes the greed, cruelty, and
hypocrisy of the Third Reich and offers a fresh look at a little-known chapter
of World War II and the Holocaust.
