Krawcowe z Auschwitz. Prawdziwa historia kobiet, które szyły, żeby przetrwać

by Lucy Adlington, Adriana Celińska (Translator)

W czasie szaleństwa hitlerowskiej zagłady, młode więźniarki Auschwitz-Birkenau uniknęły komór gazowych, projektując i szyjąc modne ubrania dla nazistów. Szwalni założonej przez żonę komendanta obozu, Hedwig Höss, patronowały nie tylko żony oficerów SS, a działalność krawcowych nie ograniczała się jedynie do przerabiania odzieży znalezionej w walizkach ofiar. Zamówienia na wyszukane stroje płynęły nawet z samego Berlina.

Tę pracę wykonywały młode wykwalifikowane więźniarki, w większości Żydówki, które szyły, żeby – dosłownie – żyć.

Historia krawcowych z Auschwitz do niedawna pozostawała nieznana. Ich niezwykłe losy opowiada dopiero Lucy Adlington, opierając się przy tym na niepublikowanych wcześniej materiałach i świadectwach.

Lucy Adlington jest brytyjską historyczką i pisarką. Relacje krawcowych z Auschwitz zainspirowały ją początkowo do napisania powieści, a następnie skłoniły do opisania ich niezwykłej historii.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, World War II, Historical, Audiobook, War

496 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2021

About the author

I am fascinated by the stories clothes can tell about the people who made, sold and wore them.
My latest non-fiction book is 'The Dressmakers of Auschwitz', revealing the lives and fates of a remarkable group of mainly Jewish women who sewed to survive in a fashion salon established by the camp commandant's wife. It has been a privilege to bring these stories into the light.
'Women's Lives & Clothes in WW2' is a global overview of the 1940s, drawing on interviews with veterans and items from my vintage collection.
History is also the inspiration for my YA novels, including 'The Red Ribbon', 'Sunmerland', 'The Burning Mountain' and 'The Glittering Eye'
In between all this writing I give presentations on costume history - such a fabulous job: www.historywardrobe.com @historywardrobe
I love switching off with crime thrillers (Lee Child, Agatha Christie...) or with biographies

Reviews

[Darryl Greer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories about the Holocaust in general, Auschwitz in particular need to be told, re-told and told again, lest we forget. Lucy Adlington’s "The Dressmakers of Auschwitz" is another in this ilk, though told from a slightly different angle. It features the seamstresses who were co-opted for the Nazi war effort, as well as being forced to design and make clothes for the wives of Nazi hierarchy in the camp. No-one needs to be reminded of the horrors of Auschwitz but there are plenty of examples in this book of the extent of the barbarity inflicted on these women by the Nazis. In her pursuit of truth and accuracy, the author has undertaken an incredible amount of research and has conducted in-depth interviews of Holocaust survivors. Ironically, that is the book’s downfall. It is filled to the brim with research material, it is far too long, the scenes at Auschwitz only take up a small percentage of the book and at times, despite the nightmare these women and their fellow inmates suffered, it gets a little tedious. For those interested in the plight of these women, the dressmaking angle or just wanting to read something about Auschwitz told a little differently, "The Dressmakers of Auschwitz" is worth a read. Otherwise, there are many other non-fiction stories that are more engaging, including "Auschwitz Lullaby" by Mario Escobar and "The Choice" by Dr. Edith Eger. "Karolina’s Twins" by Ronald H. Balson is a work of fiction but it is based on actual stories extensively researched by the author.

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy Adlington shines a spotlight on a little known group of Auschwitz-Birkenau inmates who sewed in a ‘fashion salon’ established by Hedwig Höss, wife of Rudolf the SS Officer in charge of the death camp. Her exhaustive research includes an interview with Mrs Kohut (98) in San Francisco, the last surviving dressmaker of Auschwitz. The book explains how these 25 women came together through the most terrible circumstances of camp life and their stories personalise something so huge it’s still hard to get your head around even after all those years. These women were part of ‘Obere Nähstube‘ -Upper Tailoring Studio - under the supervision of Marta Fuchs who uses her ‘privilege ‘ to help other inmates. Their stories demonstrated the close bonds of family and nationality and how you couldn’t kill friendship and loyalty. Under Marta this disparate group became experts with the needle, producing excellent work for the wives of Nazi elite and in the process became an extended family. There are numerous photographs of these woman, some before the war which are especially poignant, breaking your heart as they showed happy times before their worlds imploded.

This is an extensively and exhaustively well researched piece of work that is written in a very accessible way. The background on Rudolf and Hedwig Höss from their marriage in 1929 is infused with the lives of the dressmakers giving a chilling insight into rising racial tension and provides a thought provoking and terrifying contrast. The contradictory attitudes of Höss come across strongly too as do Hedwig’s. The author does a great job at giving all involved a sense of their character which is a remarkable achievement. There is interesting background on high fashion and local dressmakers and dressmaking and some good illustrations of fashion of the time. The regime wanted Berlin to become the centre of fashion rather than Paris and image via smart clothing was seen as being extremely important. Yet most clothing and chain stores were Jewish (80%) which were of course destroyed and thus Jewish women such as these planned a mode of survival utilising their skills with the needle. We get a step by step build up via these women of the increasing Nazi yoke, with concentration camps and the Final Solution. Some of the dressmaker women worked in Kanada before transferring to the tailoring studio and this is very chilling with some of the horrifying discoveries they made.

Overall, inevitably this is a tough read. I did know that this group of women existed as I’d read a book about Rudolf and Hedwig Höss but no more than that. This is well worth reading to gain further insight into a little known aspect of the ruthless regime and is testament to the power of resistance no matter how small and to human resilience. What an absolutely amazing group of women.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton and the author for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books on the Holocaust need to continue to be written and read. I was not aware that seamstresses, while in concentration camps, became tailors for Nazi men and women, particularly the wives of senior SS officers. In exchange for twelve hours of non-stop sewing, they received a little soup and the right to live.

Nazi bosses reassured their peers that tailoring, furrier, and shoe making would be established in concentration camps. One poignant moment is when the seamstresses received furs from clothing that came from children in the Ukraine and Romania and had to "upscale" it into women's clothing. Tears were shed as they sewed the garments.

Lucy Adlington has done thorough research, including interviewing a sole survivor who was 98 years old at the time of the interview. Adlington is a clothes historian and provided examples of fashions from the 1940s throughout the book.

Some of the powerful passages in Adlington's book include:
* Psychological power of a uniform to help the wearer live up to the image
* Nazi swastika transformed neutral clothing into a statement
* We sewed uniforms for men set to kill us
* Muddle of imperfect choices
* "We did not expect a picnic, but what we found was the beginning of sheer horror."
* The needle became our salvation
* Clothes are a mark of humanity
* Clothes and dignity are linked
* Fight for survival was all-consuming
* A pause in the journey toward death
* A morgue of lost hopes
* The warehouse of the body snatchers

This book is a powerful history of a relatively unknown group of women who sewed to survive.

[Marilyn (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz:The True Story of the Women who Sewed to Survive by Lucy Adlington was moving, inspiring, enlightening and at the same time so tragic and sad. Of all the books I have read about the Holocaust, I had never known there was a group of female inmates that were made to sew for the upper echelon of the Nazi officers and their wives. Author Lucy Adlington, while doing research on textiles and fashion during the time period of the Holocaust, happened to stumble upon the existence of these women. They were called the Upper Tailoring Studio. One of the seamstresses, Mrs. Bracha Kohut, was still alive and granted an interview to Lucy Adlington. Bracha Kohut was living in San Francisco, California and was able to tell Lucy Adlington about the other 24 seamstresses including details about their time in Auschwitz/Birkenau, where they came from originally, the fates of their family members, and their lives after liberation.

The Upper Tailoring Studio was created by Hedwig Hoss, the wife of Rudolf Hoss, Auschwitz’s Commandant. Amidst all the suffering, death and brutalities at Auschwitz, the Nazi officers and their wives still required quality garments for themselves and even their children. Under the command of Hedwig Hoss, these 25 seamstresses were made to design, cut, sew and make alterations for the hated Nazi officers and their wives. Hedwig Hoss wanted to maintain her privileged life style and so she used these prisoners to accomplish this. Sewing saved these prisoners lives. Many of the fancier garments and fabrics the SS officer’s wives needed were often found in the Kanada. All the things in the Kanada had been taken from the prisoners who had been sent to their deaths by way of the Crematorium. The wives of the SS officers were as cruel, Anti Semitic and greedy as their loathsome husbands.

Several of the seamstresses survived Auschwitz but by the time Lucy Adlington interviewed Bracha Kohut she was the sole survivor. These women were inspiring, courageous and so brave. No should have had to endure any of the horrific atrocities they did at Auschwitz. The seamstresses became like family to each other. The friendships they formed were beautiful, such a sharp contrast to their surroundings.

I thought that The Dressmakers of Auschwitz was going to read as a historical fiction book but it was a non-fiction account of what happened to these brave 25 seamstresses during their time at Auschwitz. I listened to the audiobook that was read by the author herself. It was read with true feeling and expressed all that was happening in a way that let my emotions respond to what these women went through. I particularly liked the ending when details were disclosed about each seamstress’s life after liberation. I was surprised to learn that several of the seamstresses had had their tattooed numbers removed. They were left with a scar that took its place. Although the numbers were no longer visible on their arms, Auschwitz would always remain etched in their minds and in their nightmares. No one should ever forget the atrocities of the Holocaust and for that reason, I recommend this book.

[Nikki]

I have mixed feelings about this book, and purposely do not give it a star rating. Even though I have issues with the writing, I feel every Holocaust story is important and should be told, and would never want to discourage someone from reading this because of a so-so rating.

I never knew there was a fashion dressmaking salon in Auschwitz, where high-ranking SS women could have dresses made from the fabrics and garments stolen from incoming inmates. I never knew the extent of the warehouses of plundered goods, or that elite SS families clothed themselves and furnished their homes with items taken from from the luggage of those doomed prisoners. I also didn’t know that Kommandant Höss’s family had a luxuriously furnished villa complete with servants and a greenhouse just across the wall from the death camp. Frau Höss considered it her “heaven upon earth” — just sickening. She could see into the camp from the upper windows of her home.

One problem I had with the writing is that it was very disorganized. The author jumps from one woman’s story to another in a slapdash way, with unrelated facts and anecdotes mixed in. This makes it difficult to bond with each woman’s story. The book is deeply researched, but the author seems to want to include every single fact she unearthed, whether related or not. Those facts become overwhelming and distract from the main narrative. I think if it had been edited to focus more clearly on the dressmaking salon, the women who worked there, and the trade in plundered goods from the warehouses, it would have a much greater impact. I also think if it would have focused on one woman’s story at a time, rather than jumping back and forth so much, that each woman’s personality could have shown through even more. As it was, their stories were so scattered, I could scarcely differentiate one from the next. This made me sad, because WANTED to know them!

[Taury · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dressmaker of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington is full of great information about WW2 and Auschiwitz. It is NF and doesn’t move very fast. It was full of more straight forward facts vs a story line. I found it difficult to listen to due to the narrator reading the book to me. That was very off putting.

[Debbie W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why I chose to read this book:
1. GR friend, Mary: Me, My Shelf & I's review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) led me to add this to my WTR list for its unique aspect of the Holocaust; and,
2. January 2025 is my self-declared "A and B Authors" Month!

Praises:
1. author Lucy Adlington has "woven" strands of the fashion industry during WWII, how clothing played an integral part in the Nazi concentration/death camps, and an insight into the women who were part of the dressmaker kommando, stitching to stay alive;
2. I learned that:
- Hedwig Höss, wife of Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss, wanted fashionable clothes for herself and other SS wives, so she set up the Upper Tailoring Studio, a "fashion salon" of sorts where at least 25 female seamstress inmates were expected to meet their needs;
- although I knew that "Kanada" was an area at this death camp where the belongings of the prisoners and those executed were sent and sorted, I never had the full scope of how massive this area was, at over 20 huge warehouses! Because of this, the contents were insured;
- the first transports of female Jews were from Slovakia;
- HUGO BOSS's contribution to Nazi uniforms and SS garments was by using slave labor; and,
3. with copious footnotes, Adlington's vast research is apparent, and interspersing the text with b/w photos and quotes was a nice touch.

Niggles:
1. I hate to say it, but the massive research may have been a downfall of this book. With only one surviving seamstress to interview, it's obvious other information was needed to meet the page quota. Anecdotes of prisoners not directly related to the dressmakers were often included, thereby making this book feel disjointed; and,
2. the first half of the book sets the stage for WWII and the Holocaust. Although some information is given about the dressmakers at this time, I was hoping for a greater focus regarding their lives at Auschwitz. What did they talk about amongst themselves? What kinds of fabric were they using? What exactly did they create? What kinds of problems did they encounter?

Overall Thoughts:
If you are expecting a narrative nonfiction, you won't find it here.
I am a firm believer that for every prisoner of these death camps, there is a story that must be told. If you have an interest in reading nonfiction about the Holocaust, you won't be disappointed with this book.

3 stars = a good read.

NOTE: January 27, 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Never again!

[Linden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I've read extensively on the Holocaust, I'd never heard of the dressmakers of Auschwitz. These prisoners were drafted by camp commandant Hoss's wife, Hedwig, to sew custom fashions for herself, and her friends and family in the small tailoring studio. Many horrifying details of the camp are included, which are of course very difficult to read, but the perseverance of this small group of seamstresses is amazing. (Sadly, many of the items they sewed were repurposed from clothing confiscated from prisoners headed to the Auschwitz gas chambers.) The author was able to meet with the last surviving woman of this group, and related what happened to each one after the camp was liberated. I'm grateful to Edelweiss and the publisher for allowing me to review this advance copy.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

7/30/23 my “review” for this book as just brought to my attention. This is not at all acceptable to me. I will agree wrk was exhausting because of new business growth in the middle of Covid. I’m going to mark this as want to read again and start over. Obviously I learned from this book having given it 4stars.

I’m so interested in this book but work has me so exhausted I keep falling asleep during the narration and I have to rewind. It may be next year before I can write a review

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very exhaustive book about women who survived the atrocities of Auschwitz.

[Cristina Lazăr · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://carti.blog/2025/04/28/croitor...

[Bionic Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you know about the Holocaust? If your family were involved then the facts might be familiar, but many people—myself included—have a sort of blinkered view. We do not want to know. We do not want to look. The name “Auschwitz” sends a shiver down our spine. Nor were most of those of my age taught about it at school.

In the years following the Second World War, the Holocaust was a taboo subject. The author of this book says that for many survivors not speaking of it was an additional survival tactic, to ward off lingering anti-Semitism. Also many survivors understandably could not cope with the raw emotions talking would raise. And, astoundingly, they were not always believed. In fact the first question Lucy Adlington was asked by “Mrs Kohút”, an Auschwitz survivor, on the first of her many visits was, “How can you believe it?”

As the years have passed, the information has become more widespread, despite the Nazis’ desperate attempt when the liberation of Auschwitz was inevitable, to burn all the evidence. Children now learn about the Holocaust in schools, but it has taken until the third generation for curiosity to flower without being repressed. When I was small, perhaps about 1963, my father told me of prejudice, and the notorious Nazi death camps, quietly showing me some of the few photographs that existed. Routinely “called up”, he had spent this time in the occupied countries of Belgium and Holland. He explained that the Allies wanted to tear the place down, but realised that if they did that, there was a risk that it would not be believed. It was all very fresh in people’s minds then, within a decade of their lives. It seemed strange, shocking, unintelligible to us.

So my knowledge about Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi extermination camp in Poland delivering “the Final Solution”, was sketchy. Before The Dressmakers of Auschwitz I had not read any factual books about the Holocaust except for Anne Frank’s Diary. The closest to this book might be the film “Playing for Time”, which was based on the acclaimed musician Fania Fénelon’s autobiography “The Musicians of Auschwitz”, where she and a group of classical musicians were spared in return for performing music for their captors.

The facts one picks up from historical fiction are horrifying enough, so I needed to steel myself to read The Dressmakers of Auschwitz, which is indeed a grim, gruelling, hellish read. Yet it is not written in an emotional way; nor are there gratuitous harrowing descriptions. It is simply the facts which are so horrifying, feeling as if they should be unbelievable. In a way, a film could never convey the facts. It would need expert CGI to portray the human skeletons people had become, or the earlier humiliations they had been subject to, such as the routine stripping and head-shaving of all new inmates, as soon as they were forcibly taken down from the cattle trucks which had transported them there.

“The undressing process in Auschwitz not only stripped identity as clothes came off, it also stripped away dignity.”

The induction process at Auschwitz also stripped the Jewish women of any delusions. This was no agricultural camp, but one where those able to work would be worked to death. For others, and routinely for mothers with children, a flick of the Nazi officer’s thumb would signal a different route off the truck: one to the gas chambers. But this was a little later, by which time the inmates were saying to new arrivals “The only way out of this place is through the chimney”.

We know about the blue and white uniforms, but did we know that for the first year or so, there were no uniforms? The prisoners worked naked—or in a strange assortment of clothes thrown from a truck, for prisoners to scramble after. Perhaps you might get a shirt if you were very lucky—or a bit of a dead soldier’s uniform complete with blood and faeces. And nowhere to wash it. How could you film this? All films glamorise, to an extent. By stripping the woman of clothes, they consolidated the message travelling in a packed cattle truck had made. They were sub-human.

“The Nazis were well aware of the power of clothing to shape social identity and to emphasise power … uniforms are a classic example of using clothing to reinforce pride and identity.”

The author Lucy Adlington goes through the rise of Nazism in the European countries invaded by Hitler, and we see the greed, cruelty, and hypocrisy of the Third Reich.

Jewish people were at the heart of the textile and clothing industry; it was dominated by Jewish capital and Jewish talent, and the Nazis had their eye on this wealth. We read details about how the Nazis ruthlessly withdrew all rights for “non-Aryans”, so that Jews could not longer own their own businesses.

“Jewish businesses were compulsorily purchased. There was widespread looting of Jewish businesses after the customs border between the Czech Protectorate and Germany was abolished on 1st of 1940, and also in Ukraine and German-occupied Poland.”

They would be forcibly “sold” for a pittance to any Aryans wishing to have them. The Nazi budget had to be bulked out with Jewish money, and this began in the 1930 with “Aryanisation”—a forcible takeover of Jewish businesses for “Aryans” or non-Jews, under a new law. An “Arisator”—an Aryan manager—could claim any Jewish business they liked for a nominal fee. In November 1938 in Leipzig, 1600 Jewish businesses had already been forcibly sold that way. 1300 were left, but not for long. In Berlin there were 2100 textile-related businesses about to be swept up under the law of Aryanisation.

“It was a long and degrading downfall, beginning with state-sanctioned theft …

It was a buyer’s paradise. Arisators knew Jews had to sell, and sell quickly at that. They were snapped up for … as little as 10 per cent of their actual value. If stock was liquidated … shoppers might innocently browse clothing sale rails … delighted to find a bargain. Plenty of people were not so innocent, but happy to make the most of Jewish misfortune.”

It was a short step from here to poverty, homes being seized, and anyone young and healthy being forcibly recruited to work on the land for the war effort. Or this is what they were told. At the end of 1942 unmarried Jewish girls over the age of 16 had to report at assembly points for service in a work camp. They were advised to pack a warm coat, strong shoes and so on, and on boarding the cattle truck were assured that their luggage would be looked after. It was. Clothes were highly valued, and destined for the “Kanada” warehouses of clothes for the soldiers, and sold at knockdown prices to good Aryans, while the inmates in the camp shivered.

In Czechoslovakia:

“Under the first Aryanisation law in force from 1st June 1940 [many] Jews’ work licenses [were increasingly] revoked. This law essentially meant that Jews could not conduct independent businesses of any kind … Without work there would be no income. Without income—starvation and homelessness … [Their] work was now illegal …

Jewish charities were unbearably stretched, particularly in caring for the thousands of desperate refugees who had fled Germany to Czechoslovakia thinking it would be safer than Germany …

Of the first transports of Jews to arrive in Auschwitz in 1942, over ninety per cent were dead within the first four months. Of the 10,000 Jewish women deported from Slovakia, only about 200 would return home.”

Adverts for Jewish shops simply disappeared. The actual buildings were still there, but after Aryanisation the signs were painted over with new names, selling the same stock but with the Jewish clothes labels removed. In Prague any expensive properties were confiscated, with a receipt issued to give the illusion that it was temporary.

“Back in Germany, mother, wives, sweethearts and siblings received surprise packages from menfolk abroad, and they were delighted at the abundance. In their own domestic way these women became war profiteers. Perhaps they were genuinely unaware that their gains were other people’s losses.”

Meanwhile the plundering of Jewish shops in Germany continued, and warm items of clothing were confiscated.

“Nationwide collections of winter clothing and kits for troops were referred to as a Christmas present from the German people to the Eastern Front. Hundreds of thousands of items were received. No doubt men of the Wehrmacht appreciated the new warmth. And the Jews who shivered in bitter weather—what did their suffering matter? ...

The stripping of all assets was a foretaste of the literal stripping of clothes the prisoners would be subjected to on arrival at Auschwitz, as they were “processed”.

Alongside these stories, we read the back story of the wife of the camp commandant. Hedwig Höss was a young wife who was taken up with the Artaman philosophy. The Artamans formed part of the German Youth Movement, representing its more right-wing back-to-the-land elements. They advocated blood-and-soil policies with a strong undercurrent of anti-Slavism. Nazi Germany classified most of the Slavs—especially the Poles, Russians, Belarusians, Serbs, Ukrainians, and Central Asians—as “subhumans”.

Just a few years before, young Hedwig and Rudolph had dreamed of their ideal family life: an Artaman farming fantasy. When Rudolph was appointed camp commandant at Auschwitz, this became a reality. They had vegetable plots in their villa’s garden and also vast agricultural sub-camps in the Auschwitz area, (including the incorporated village of Rajsko) worked on by the inmates of the camp. They were in essence slave plantations:

“The ‘blood and soil honest toil’ ethos promoted by Artaman ideology was carried out by enslaved workers. A hideous biological symbiosis also linked masters and victims; vegetables at Rajsko were fertilised with human ash still sharp with pieces of bone that were not entirely burnt up … Human excrement was used to fertilise vegetable patches”.

Lucy Adlington makes it clear that this is not a novelisation, but the history of 25 women based entirely on testimonies, documents, material evidence and memories recounted by family members. The chronicle of the rise of Nazi power is interspersed with the early life of a handful of young women who are fated to meet. We see photos of them in family groups, singly, or with friends, but all before their internment in Auschwitz. They came from different backgrounds, and had different skills, although all came to learn that to be able to sew a seam would be valued.

“Auschwitz was a grotesque world where lives could be rescued, ruined or ended on a whim.”

The archives were the author’s starting point, and from there she made questionnaires, finding that survivors were more willing to answer questions on paper than to be interviewed. But it seemed critical to collect as much information as she could. As Mrs Kohút said to her “Why couldn’t you have come 10 years ago?” So few survivors were left. She was “One of the Few Who Survived” (chapter 1).

Jewish people became desperate to get out of Germany as soon as possible. After Autumn 1941, “Jews Out!” meant deportation. A ghetto in the Czech town of Terazin was called a “model town” for Jews only, but in reality was a transit camp for a far darker destination. As we read, each of them is forced to travel to Auschwitz, a death camp posing as an agricultural establishment, where the infamous slogan declares its great lie to the world over the gate “Work Makes Free”.

Meanwhile young Hedwig Höss’s commitment to the Nazi cause became fanatical:

“At the birth of their next child, Hans-Jürgen, Hedwig specifically requested a caesarean operation, so that a lengthy labour would not interfere with plans to hear Hitler’s big May Day speech in Berlin.”

She continued to create her dream home and garden, like a good Nazi wife:

“Hedwig called her garden paradise. Crazy paving paths invited you to wander under shady pergolas, around an ornamental pond, alongside a superb glasshouse and down to a cool stone pavilion with two plush green sofas, a rug on the parquet floor and a cosy stove when needed. Relaxing on much-appreciated days off, the camp commandant joined his family for al fresco meals around an elegant picnic table with matching benches, covered with a lovely blue cloth.

When they picked fruit from the garden, Hedwig was said to remind the children to ‘wash the strawberries well, because of the ash’. Auschwitz crematorium I was just over the wall, after all.”

The children were not told that this was human ash, but that the stink was from the garlic factory.

The camp had a problem with disease and parasites. This was the reason given for shaving the women’s heads as soon as they arrived. It also of course satisfactorily added to their complete degradation. At the beginning there were no gas chambers, but a scientist theorised that since they were using Zyklon B to fumigate the clothes for Kanada, which were crawling with lice, why not use this gas to exterminate human vermin too? Women inmates constructed the extra blocks, labelled “shower block” over the entrance, and the imitation shower heads above, where the gas would be pumped in. Inmates were told they were going to have a shower as they were led to their deaths. It was all part of the great lie.

Many died as they worked. This was convenient, as the numbers as more and more people were transported on the cattle trucks quickly became too great for the extermination process to keep up with. One inmate who had been a doctor said she didn’t know how to use a pickaxe. A blow from the butt of a gun soon showed her. Others not able to keep up with the work were shot, with the reason given that they were “trying to escape”.

And Hedwig’s “paradise” blossomed:

“When Adolf Eichmann visited, he described Hedwig’s domain as ‘homey and nice’. The villa guest-book filled with compliments. ‘Thanks to Mother Hoss’—‘Wishing you health, happiness and contentment’—‘I spent many hours of relaxation with old friends …’

On the occasion of Himmler’s second visit in January 1943, Hedwig served such a fine breakfast he was late arriving to a demonstration of the gas chambers operation. The chosen victims endured the wait locked inside the cement hall with its fake shower heads. After a tour of the camp in bitterly cold weather, Himmler could warm up at the villa, which had been fitted with modern central heating.”

Other Nazi SS families also owned similar green sanctuaries. Between 1942 and 1943 150 Jewish inmates had reworked the gardens into Hedwig’s paradise, whereas in the house, Jehovah’s witnesses were selected to be servants because they never stole anything (of course nobody was paid). The camp’s inmates were not only Jews, but anyone of a different religion, or political prisoners, or homosexuals or suspected spies from any of the occupied countries.

Hedwig Höss had no intention of letting standards slip, or being a dowdy German wife. She liked stylish clothes. When she learned that Marta Fuchs, one of her servants who had been picked from the inmates, was a skilled designer and dressmaker from Bratislava, Hedwig saw how she could get the high-end fashions she craved. She could order the best designers and seamstresses to create unique fashions, as befitted the wife of the camp commandant. Not only would the Nazi officers look powerful and commanding in their smart uniforms, but their wives would too.

Hedwig called her fashion workshop the ‘Upper Tailoring Studio’. Marta Fuchs was allowed to visit Kanada, and select what she needed from the beautiful fabrics freely available to Nazi officers’ wives. All had been purloined from the best Jewish businesses. Hedwig relied on Marta to say who she needed to cut out, stitch seams and darts, and complete her designs for the haute-couture suits and dresses needed for the officers’ social functions in Auschwitz:

“Where the SS selected people for death, in picking out her helpers Marta was selecting them for a better chance at life …

Under her aegis, the Auschwitz dressmaking salon became a refuge, saving seamstresses and non-sewers alike. Marta’s wider involvement in resistance runs like silver threads through the murky weave of Auschwitz life.”

We read the stories of those we followed in the beginning: Irene, Renee, Bracha, Katka, Hunya, Marta, and add new ones: Mimi, Manci, Olga, Alida, Marilou, Lulu, Baba, Borishka. All now had hope, but:

“However light the atmosphere in the sewing studio, beyond this haven the camps continued their grisly process of turning people into fearful skeletons; of converting living people into smoke and ash and bone fragments …”

This little-known chapter of the Holocaust ends with the liberation of Auschwitz. Those in the dressmaking studio knew it was coming. Apart from the rumours, the air now smelt of burning paper rather than bodies, as the Nazis desperately sought to destroy their detailed records. The next day about 30,000 inmates were ordered to march; Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was on the move to an unknown destination. Some managed to escape, while the rest continued to Löslau. Some from the group escaped by train while the rest, “to the accompaniment of shrieks, beatings and shootings” were loaded onto open coal wagons, 180 women to each wagon.

Those who survived this ended up at Ravensbrück. Those who had hidden in the camp were released when the Russians broke in—astonished at what they found—and said they were free. But the story does not end there.

As I reflect on this remarkable chronicle, scenes flash back to me. The young woman who came across her sister’s dress in Kanada, and then knew that she had died in the gas chamber.

The girl recovering from typhoid, who was told by the doctor working under Mengele, that if she stayed in the hospital, she would be clean, and have more food than the normal ration of turnip water and hard bread—but that she would never have children.

Commandant Hoss, complaining that his siesta was disturbed by noises of nearby torture.

Those who were ordered to dig up turf from around the camp perimeter and transfer it to Hedwig’s pleasure gardens, because “Jews had no right to see green grass.”

But also this:

“Hunya was saved by friendship and loyalty—something the Nazis could not stamp out despite all their abuses.”

And what of Mrs. Kohút, whose wry comment “They Want us to be Normal?” is the title of the final chapter?

This was the seamstress Bracha Berkovic, then 98 and living in California. Sadly she was to die of Covid-related complications shortly before her hundredth birthday.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book and I’m glad that it was written. These women’s stories deserve to be told and I’m glad that I learned about them.

The best part of the story was getting a good feel for all the women. I felt as though I was there with them and their families and friends and communities at every stage of the way. The author and the interviews did a fine job of describing the experiences these women had, before the war and some after the war, as well as during the war.

I got a bit bored by the listings and descriptions of fabrics and other intricacies of sewing, embroidery, and other clothes making & repairing techniques, and of clothes in general, but I think that there is so much about clothing of various types and styles because they were used to give a clear window into people’s lives. There was other repetition too such as listing strings of women’s names (identical and similar) over and over again. Maybe their names should be said over and over and over but it doesn’t make for the best writing style or narrative.

The only thing I hated was feeling manipulated by one part of the storytelling, when the reader is led to strongly believe (at least assume) that one of the women is killed but we find out much later that she actually survived. I didn’t appreciate that and I think that woman’s story could have been told in a straightforward way and had just as much impact.

There are quotes included that were said by the people who are subjects of this book but some of the quotes in the book are by others. Because I’ve read so much about the Holocaust I knew the identities of those quoted but not everyone would so it would have been good to have a sentence or two about each. I think that happened only once in the book proper.

I appreciate the that author gave credit to Lore Shelley for the work she did before the author got the information that enabled her to write this book.

Long, extensive, impressive bibliography. Very detailed and long notes; some of the material I wish had been in the book proper. An Index is included. Well researched. I appreciated how events outside these women’s direct experiences were included as they gave context to what the women and other people were going through at various times.

And, Ah!!! The author bio in the back was helpful for me. The author, as well as being a novelist, has written other non-fiction as well as fiction and is a clothing historian specializing in social history. That helps explain the minutiae about clothes. That, and the using clothes as a way to tell people’s stories. I don’t have the same interest in clothes so I wasn’t as enamored of the details but I do think they were used well in this narrative and I found a lot of it interesting when I didn’t find it dull. I see why the details were included and I do think they made for a better book.

When I’ve read Holocaust books in the past I’ve always wondered how I would have behaved and how I would have fared. Now, what with what is going on, it feels different and I wondered how might I do with what might happen in the future.

[Anita Vela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tengo que empezar diciendo que esta historia está MUY documentada, pero MUY. El trabajo que hay detrás es impresionante al punto que te vuela la cabeza 🤯 Desde aquí mis felicitaciones a la autora por semejante trabajazo esto no se escribe un par de meses…

Ahora, he de decir que el formato no me ha convencido mucho a modo “historia”, me explico. Como documental es fantástico y si fuera plasmado en una película/serie sería muy bueno, pero como historia es demasiada información, demasiados nombres, casos, historias… Y seguirle la pista a cada persona a mí me ha costado la vida. No es una historia que nos cuenta la historia de una familia, pareja o persona, no, nos cuenta historias de muchas modistas, mujeres de la SS, familia, mucha moda de la época… es un montón de gente e información.

Me gustado saber más sobre el Holocausto, ya que no sabía el papel de estas modistas y que había detrás de todo sus trabajo, os imaginaréis que es bastante duro, pero ya sabéis que adoro este tipo de historias y saber más y más… es una cosa que jamás sabremos del todo y en cada historia descubro que toda aquella barbarie es aún peor.

¿Os recomiendo esta historia? Por supuesto que sí, si os gusta las historias de la SGM, tenéis que leerla, pero haceros a la idea de que no es una historia al uso y es más tipo documental, no es nada malo, solo que a mí me ha pillado un poco por sorpresa y debería de haberlo compaginado con otra historia más ligera para no saturarme con tanta info, seguramente así la habría disfrutado más.

[Lucia Nieto Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voy a intentar ser breve con esta reseña, quiero que sea algo diferente, ya que este libro es diferente, no es una novela como tal, es mas bien tipo documental donde la autora va a dejar claro clarísimo todo lo que se ha documentado.
Sabéis lo mucho que me gustan este tipo de libros, leí el anterior “La cinta roja” y la propia autora dice que, gracias a ese libro, y la gran cantidad de gente que se interesó por él, acabó escribiendo “Las modistas de Auschwitz”
Cierto que tiene sus peros, capítulos que son bastante largos, y que las notas en vez de estar a pie de página están a final del libro, (algo que suele ser bastante pesado) pero en conjunto sigo pensando que este tipo de libros son necesarios.
Este libro nos mete de lleno en la historia de 25 mujeres que estuvieron en este campo de concentración, y se dedicaban a la confección de ropa para las mujeres e hijos de los nazis, así como de los propios nazis. Quizá uno de los trabajos que les daban esperanzas, y que tenían algún tipo de ventaja sobre los demás.
Personalmente, y después de todo lo que he leido sobre este tema, (además que Levi lo ha dicho), creo que algo para sobrevivir es ese factor suerte que siempre hay…
Un libro que puedes leerlo con calma, por todo lo que cuenta, o un libro que no puedes parar, destaco la entrevista con una de las supervivientes y fotografías reales de la época.
«[…] Los hombres, por el aspecto, decidían si una mujer estaba “disponible” o quedaba fuera de su alcance».
«El desastre que tuvo lugar allí es imposible de comprender, y la mente humana no es capaz de creerlo […]».
Por último, decir que hay muchísimas referencias a otros libros sobre esta temática, y que obviamente tengo apuntados, porque como siempre digo, hay que saber lo que ocurrió para que no vuelva a ocurrir, y no habrá suficientes libros para saberlo todo.

[Dora Santos Marques · Rating 5 out of 5]

A minha opinião em video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfV7...

[Amanda Hupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We shake hands. At that moment history becomes real life, not just the archives, book stacks, fashion drawings, and fluid fabrics that are my usual historical sources for writing and presenting. I am meeting a woman who has survived a time and place now synonymous with horror.”

LUCY ADLINGTON
Thank you Lucy Adlington and Harper Perennial for the opportunity to read this book. It hits shelves on September 14th!

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington is an account of the true story of the women who sewed to survive. Author Lucy Adlington met with Bracha Kohut, one of the 25 women who sewed clothes for top SS wives, including Hedwig Hoss, who was the wife of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss. Auschwitz was transformed from an army barracks to a prisoner-of-war camp in September 1939. It wasn’t long before it became a death camp. 1.3 million people entered Auschwitz and 1.1 million were killed. At the height of the Nazi Occupation, SS wives were supposed to be “ideal ladies.” They needed to be supporters of their husbands but clothing was also a symbol of their status. While Auschwitz was a death camp, but the Nazis used those imprisoned there for labor. Hedwig Hoss started a fashion workshop which was called the Upper Tailoring Studio. The women forced to work in this workshop sewed to stay alive, but also used their positions to help and save as many as they possibly could.

“…the Auschwitz dressmaking salon became a refuge, saving seamstresses, and non-sewers alike. Marta’s wider involvement in resistance runs like silvery threads through the murky weave of Auschwitz life.”

THE DRESSMAKERS OF AUSCHWITZ
Trigger Warnings: torture, abuse, The Holocaust, trauma, antisemitism

Lucy Adlington is a costume historian and her research led her to this remarkable group of women. I wrote a lot of papers in college regarding Nazi Germany, mainly the Jewish Resistance Forest camps, so I was intrigued to learn about a part of history that I was not aware of previously. Fashion and clothing were exclusively used to show who belonged where. Once in the camps, their baggage was taken from them but told that it would be protected. They were then stripped and thoroughly investigated and then given rags to wear. This dehumanized them immediately. Their baggage was actually handled with strict authority as the Third Reich plundered all the belongings. When Hedwig Hoss wanted her fashions, the salon started. These women took care of each other. They knew they were given an opportunity and they did what they needed to do to survive but also help those around them.

The book does start out slow, but then I could not put it down. I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I read about the liberation and their adjustment to freedom. This place was hell. The people in charge were evil, but so were the people, specifically the wives, who tolerated it. There aren’t words to describe the despicable actions of Hedwig Hoss. She wanted to maintain a certain lifestyle and used those imprisoned to work so she could maintain that lifestyle. While working in the salon saved their lives, Hoss knew what was happening in Auschwitz. In fact, the gas chambers and crematoriums were not far from her home. But here is the thing, Hedwig’s salon didn’t save their lives. She didn’t care about whether they lived or died. The women who worked in the salon saved their own lives. There are portions of this book that will make you sick to your stomach. We have all learned about the Holocaust, but it is always horrifying, no matter how many times you read about it. But these women are inspiring to face such atrocity and torture with so much courage. It was an honor to read about them. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

A DNF for me. If you are into fashion and design this is the book for you! I understand it is a true story and a "chronicle" of the stories of a number of women, but for me, it read too much like a history text book. That, combined with the fashion and design theme, a theme that does not hold much interest for me, the book just did not grab me. I gave it a little over a 100 pages and just decided it wasn't for me.

[Jennifer (Jaye) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Horrific*

**4.5 Stars**

I was very intrigued to learn about these brave women who were not only in a concentration camp but they lived virtually one stitch at a time in the hope their lives would be spared by making clothes mainly to dress the SS functions but for the wives and those that money was no object. It was distasteful given the conditions the women had to deal with and the very same people had no compunction watching the women being marched away to their death and committing all manner of unspeakable violence against them.

The Author Lucy Adlington is also a historian and she researched and managed to get an interview with the last surviving seamstress Bracha Kohút at the time of the interview she was 98. There is a section where Lucy mentions that everything she had researched the Bracha lived through. There were 25 women chosen to sew in the Fashion workshop crassly called ‘Upper Tailoring Studio’ whilst the recipients received beautifully tailored garments to wear, the women suffered.

It was a hard read and I found myself on Google looking it up, such an unimaginable true story that Lucy does not gloss over the details and it also highlights the resilience of the women each knowing that each day could be their last.

[Donia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically this book provides the details of a very interesting enterprise that took place in Auschwitz that hasn't had much exposure but from the standpoint of a "story" there isn't much to be said. This is a dry telling, of how a few very talented seamstresses survived in a concentration camp designing Paris Fashions for the wives of the corrupt Nazi officials. The conditions were nothing like the design salons of Paris. Being a home taught "seamstress" I can't fathom designing stunning fashions under the bleakest of conditions in order to please my captors and save my life. It was cold, the lighting was poor, often the needed item could not be found at the last moment and yet, these magnificent creative women managed to get by.

Praise is due Miss Adlington for her mountain of research. It is a worthy project. As a reader however, I just found the story itself sterile and dry.

[Tita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vejam a minha opinião em vídeo, AQUI.

[Mădălina Udrescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unroman documentar, memorialistic, cutremurător despre femeile de la Auschwitz, care au supraviețuit îndeplinind o meserie banală - croitoria. Volumul ne prezintă niste povești reale din timpul captivității în lagăr, dar, mai ales, ne vorbește despre modul în care aceste eroine și martire au reușit să-și continue viața după eliberare. Unele au păstrat însemnele chinului lor ca pe o dovadă a rezistenței, altele au decis să șteargă orice urma vizibilă a acelui loc, dar ceea ce le leagă pe toate sunt amintirile care nu dispar, chiar dacă totul este trecut sub tăcere. Ele au trăit mai multe vieți, au văzut moartea în fiecare zi, dar au mers mai departe cu fruntea sus, și asta pentru că au fost conștiente că au pierdut tot ceea ce existase înainte, familie, locuințe, cariere etc. Viața de după lagăr a fost una grea, plină de traume, dar ele au decis să o trăiască oricum - doar imaginile încă vii ale Auschwitzului au fost mai groaznice decât lagărul în sine.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Nonfiction/WWII. I didn't know this was nonfiction when I picked it up. I was expecting historical fiction. I need to read subtitles. However, with that said, I really enjoyed this one. Not once did I feel like it was putting me to sleep.

I've never heard about the dressmakers who spent their days in Auschwitz making dresses/fashion for the officers wives and their children. The author did so much research; it really felt like a labor of love. And the story of these women just reeled me right in. So 4 stars for this one.

[Sandra "Jeanz" · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read this author’s other book which is fictional and called The Red Ribbon as soon as I heard about this non-fiction title, I knew I had to read it. I love that the cover of the book, it’s not a typical cover of this era and setting, there is not oppressive image of Auschwitz or its famous gate. The by-line of the book really sums up in a very simplistic sentence why these women survived.

I do not really know why I have such a deep-seated pull, and compelling desire to read books about the Holocaust, other than I think what happened to these people who were just like anyone else were suddenly chosen, isolated and put under such horrendous daily torture just because of their religion, really deserve to have their stories read, remembered and passed on to every other generation to follow. A lesson needs to be learnt from these historical facts, memoirs and even the fictionalised stories aet at this time too.

I really loved how Lucy introduces Mrs Kohut, a 98 year old woman, who is the last surviving dressmaker from the fashion salon created at Auschwitz concentration camp. I don’t know if was done intentionally or not but by not giving the first name of Mrs Kohut as a reader you end up reading the events that happened not knowing which person is Mrs Kohut. You find out much later into the story.

Referring back to the by-line of the book, “The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive” as it was the simple fact, they could sew that saved their lives. Saying that it doesn’t mean these ladies had a much smoother or easier life within Auschwitz. They were still subjected to the same horrific conditions and being under the constant fear of being noticed and punished for some minor infraction on the rules the Nazis made. Or even just beaten and tortured because a Nazis officer felt like it. They were also answerable and in danger from even “one of their own” put in charge of either their work detail or the building they slept in referred to as their Kapo.

It seems ironic that the Nazis men and women (as there were female guards at the concentration camps too) wanted to rid the world of the whole Jewish race, made them surrender businesses and all possessions of any value, yet found it acceptable to take a few women who could sew and have them make clothes for them. The Nazis valued clothing highly. The author shares the fact Eva Braun, first Hitlers mistress then later wife, actually had her wedding dress delivered across a burning Berlin just days before their suicides to wear with her designer shoes. Joseph Goebbels wife, Magda is quoted as having said “What a nuisance that Kohnen is closing . . . we all know that when the Jews go, so will the elegance from Berlin. These women, Emmy Goering, Hedwig Hensel-Hoss and Magda Goebbels, knew about the victimisation of the Jewish people yet decided the best way to cope with this knowledge was to turn away from it. Though these women and their men were realising that a lot of industries, including the clothing industry were heavily, reliant on a Jewish workforce.

There were a lot of “shops” created within the concentration camps that the Jewish prisoners worked in as well as doing the outside heavier manual laboured jobs too. There was a furrier’s cutting shop at Ravensbruck. The furs were recut and made into items such as jackets and gloves for the soldiers. The women working often split seams and hems whilst altering the items and found jewellery and valuable that had been hidden.

Though Hedwig Hensel-Hoss, wife of the man in charge of Auschwitz, Rudolph Hoss is credited as creating a small fashion salon for the wives of the Nazis elite, when reading the details Lucy has researched and listened to from Mrs Kohut it was truly the invention of a sharp, quick witted woman called Marta who had been working as a dressmaker for Hedwig. Marta used her own opportunity to help other less fortunate in the camp. Marta managed to get agreement for another seamstress. When other SS wives saw the garment’s Hedwig was having made, they became envious. Hedwig then went on to expand her attic sewing shop into a select fashion salon.

There were many that could sew, in fact figures state that out of ten thousand women there must have been at least five hundred. Marta used her own position to suggest and choose other women she could depend upon to sew. Such as a woman called Irene who was chosen because Irene’s brother Laci had married Marta’s sister Turulka. So, Irene was chosen, then Irene suggested her good friend Bracha. Bracha was chosen and revealed she had a sister who could sew and on and on it went. Lucy reveals there were 25 young girls and women that ended up working in Hedwig’s fashion salon.

The author Lucy had already done a lot of research about the dressmakers for her fictional book The Red Ribbon, and had found just an incomplete list of female names, Irene, Renee, Bracha, Katka, Hunya, Mimi, Manci, Marta, Olga, Alida, Marilou, Lulu, Baba and Boriskha. Lucy thought she had found out all she was going to about these women until her book actually released and she began being contacted the families of these women. Suddenly Lucy found herself with a new wealth of information. As Lucy did more research and discovered more details and met Mrs Kohut, she shares all her discoveries with us the reader in this book.

It’s hard to describe how I felt reading this book, I found it difficult to read about the way these innocent young girls and women were treat by the Nazis and their sympathisers. At times it really had me questioning if I wanted to read such a truthful, bluntly honest book about the realities of the harsh conditions these women tried to survive within. Then I became angry with myself, in that all the horror these women were put through and I was feeling saddened reading about it. What on earth did those young girls and women feel every day, day in day out, wondering where the next morsel of food was coming from and when the next beating, or the last call to be sent to their death would be. I strongly believe these books need to be written, and read and continue to be remembered, talked about and lessons learnt. If its not the wrong thing to say I honestly ended up “enjoying” discovering more about these women, the real women and their names behind the fictional story Lucy wrote based her book The Red Ribbon on. I could go on and on talking about this book, but it needs to be read by as many people as possible, so I will say I have only scratched the surface of the book in my review. I also know I rattle on and on when I read books set in this era, saying these are the titles that should be on school reading lists, discussed and talked about in schools, but I believe that to be right. These atrocities should never be allowed to occur again.

My immediate thoughts on this book were thank goodness there were prisoners such as Marta who thought quickly and managed to make Frau Hoss think it was all her own idea to open a fashion salon, and use free Jewish labour. I love how Marta's quick thinking saved lives. Sure, it was people she knew from her own town etc but you can understand her wanting people who she knew that were reliable after all it was her neck on the line too!!"

To sum up, this book is an amazing read, brilliantly written account using extensive research and first-hand accounts from the very last surviving dressmaker of Auschwitz. The book left me feeling like I wanted to reach through the book and hug Mrs Kohut, to thank her for sharing her story. How must she feel being the last one alive, had she already told her family about what she went through and how she managed despite the odds to survive. I am not ashamed to say the book had me in tears, especially when I thought had Lucy not written The Red Ribbon, that the true story of the Dressmakers of Auschwitz may never have been fully told.

My final, final words on the book have to be that it really is a very moving, emotional read, told in a sometimes brutally honest, non-romanticised way, that tells the truth of some of the Holocaust horrors inflicted on a group of amazing, determined to survive women.

[Marta Clemente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que se continue a escrever sobre o holocausto e a divulgar as atrocidades cometidas neste período negro da nossa história recente! PARA QUE NUNCA SE ESQUEÇA! Por muito que leia sobre este tema, nunca deixo de me surpreender com o que o Homem é capaz de fazer aos seus semelhantes!
"As costureiras de Auschwitz" é um livro de não ficção que nos tráz a investigação feita por Lucy Adlington acerca do gabinete de alta costura que vestia as esposas dos oficiais alemães em Auschwitz. Neste gabinete chegou a haver 15 costureiras prisioneiras do campo, que através do seu talento e da sua rede de amigos conseguiu sobreviver a este período negro que exterminou milhares de pessoas na Europa.
Este livro para mim foi uma surpresa. Estava à espera de um livro romanceado e saiu-me esta excelente investigação exaustiva e muito bem exposta. Gostei bastante!

[Abril Camino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una impresionante investigación histórica sobre un colectivo muy concreto de mujeres prisioneras en Auschwitz. Quizá me habría gustado más un poco novelado o con una estructura más amena, pero es indudable que es un ensayo del que se puede aprender mucho.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read for International Holocaust Remembrance Day)

For this year’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I checked out “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz”, which follows the lives of a group of women that worked in the fashion salon/sweatshop within the confines of the Auschwitz death camp. Lucy Adlington’s text is mostly your standard non-fiction book about survivors’ Holocaust experiences, a bit about their pre-Holocausts lives, the hell they had to endure in the ghettos and death camps, their liberation and their lives over the subsequent decades. That said, despite not being too interested in fashion, I did appreciate how it was used as the lens to tell these women’s story of survival as well as how it fits within the broader context of the Holocaust.

As I said I’m not terribly interested in fashion, the fashion industry, etc so the first part of the book about these women’s occupations/hobbies in fashion and the European fashion industry at the time was a bit of a drag. It's unfortunate but once the Nazis began rounding up these women that the book finally became a more engaging read. It was interesting to learn both about how fashion factored into the Nazis attempts to create their imagery (military uniforms, the “idealized” housewife image, etc.) as well as denying Jewish prisoners their freedoms (i.e. the Star of David clothing patches) and identities. It was particularly interesting seeing how the Nazis paradoxically needed Jewish fashion sense to create their ideal fashions. Beyond that I also had no idea how much of Europe’s wealth that the Nazis were looting was tied into stealing valuable clothing materials (silks and furs) and accessories/beauty products (perfumes).

The bits set in Auschwitz were rough of course. Page after page describing what the Nazis were doing to the prisoners does get to the reader after a while. The sections dedicated to the fashion workshop (the “Upper Tailoring Studio”) set up by the commandant’s wife Hedwig Höss was surprisingly not as prominent but still there and a needed break from the atrocities. Learning how these women were put to work making high quality garments for Höss and the wives of other Nazi officials was informative, as was how the women used their skills and placement in the sweatshop to save others’ lives and their own. The main premise of the book, while not as prominent then, made the book worth checking out.

Had I been more interested in fashion and clothing, I may have gotten more out of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” but overall this was an informative read and closer look at a little know part of one of the worst atrocities in Western history.

[Orsolya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although my upbringing is dark and traumatic; one of my more pleasant memories was my exposure to sewing, fashion patterns, fabric, buttons, threads and walking at the tender age of six (by myself!) to local fabric stores. No, I didn’t hail from a family of haute couture designers. Quite the opposite: we were extremely poor and sewing/mending our clothing was more affordable than purchasing.

My family was also Hungarian-Jewish through my mother. Her father (my paternal grandfather) survived Buchenwald concentration camp before fathering my mother with his second Jewish wife (note: his name is listed in the Holocaust Memorial Museum among the survivors in Washington DC). My father, a double agent working with the US and Hungarian governments against communism; was killed in 1989 by the KGB while in Munich, Germany – he was also a Nazi hunter. I was unaware that my worlds could collide with yet another story of hell - and survival - from Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Twenty-five female Auschwitz prisoners were chosen to head the Upper Tailoring Studio: a seamstress workshop founded by Hedwig Höss (wife of camp commander, Rudolf Höss). These women sewed clothing for the wives of Nazi and SS soldiers with some of the women living to tell the tale. Lucy Adlington reveals this amazing and heartbreaking Holocaust story in, “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive”.

There is an endless plethora of World War II/Holocaust stories to be told and whether Jewish or not; the human race should absorb each one as a reminder of both our horrible flaws/evils and our resilience to live. “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz is an original Holocaust story as few have heard of the Upper Tailoring Studio. Adlington introduces readers to the women who eventually sewed clothing for key Auschwitz figures in order to survive. Initially, the text is somewhat disjointed and difficult to finesse as Adlington lacks a clear stream of information and instead follows various strands/perspectives often alternating in subsequent paragraphs. Perhaps, Adlington had too much to offer and wasn’t able to mesh this in a cohesive manner.

The early chapters of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” introduces the backgrounds of the women who will later occupy the Upper Tailoring Studio; but there is a heavy focus on the history of clothing, textiles and fashions leading up to and during World War II. Adlington explores topics ranging from fashion trends to war impact, the Jewish clothing industry to the psychological and sociological connection with clothing during the period and everything in between. Some readers may find this to be ‘off-topic’ and deviating from the title of the text but on the contrary; it is a riveting and fascinating topic with Adlington being an expert in engagement. Even readers usually annoyed at tangents (i.e. ME); will find “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” to be quite compelling.

Adlington successfully partners an academic history portrait with journalistic attributes making “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” authentic, accessible and easy-to-digest. Occasionally, Adlington uses overly-familiar verbiage but it isn’t in access and thus doesn’t weaken the overall merits of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz”.

It can be argued that it is difficult to decipher between the highlighted women indicating that “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” doesn’t bring each “to life” on the level desired. The text serves as an overall approach (this isn’t to say personal habits are not revealed – just that it is murky).

It takes 200 pages for Adlington to buckle down and wholly focus on the Upper Tailoring Studio living up to the title of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz”. At this point, the text becomes even more emotional and gut-wrenching working to drive home the atrocities of Auschwitz and the Holocaust.

Adlington does make the mistake of repeating facts and passages; while presenting them in a manner as though it is the first time mentioned. This may be a result of the final text varying in order from initial versions of the manuscript or the editor wasn’t on the ball and missed these hiccups. On the plus side, Adlington peppers “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” with mentions of other famous Auschwitz survivors reinforcing the factual accusations made throughout history against wartime Germany.

Adlington’s writing style is provocatively vivid, illustrative, and emotionally-charged. Readers are transported to the scene of the war crimes and experience raw emotion. “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz is a gripping page-turner, to say the least.

The concluding chapters of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” wraps the text neatly with an exploration of the lives of the female survivors of the Upper Tailoring Studio after camp liberation while also demonstrating the psychological effects resulting. This is not only a ‘proper’ book summation but in the case of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz”; is quite moving even procuring tears of compassion.

The pages of “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” contains multiple black-and-white photos throughout but the issue lays herein with Adlington making comments on photo details that are proven difficult visually due to the grayscales inks. Adlington also supplies the text with annotated notes and a list of sources useful for further research.

“The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” is a unique-take on the Holocaust presented in a riveting and informative style that will cause readers to lose sleep due to the inability to put the book down. “The Dressmakers of Auschwitz” is filled with the human condition and the fight to survive. Adlington’s work is recommended to readers of Holocaust history; but is honestly a must-read for ALL humans so that we never repeat such vile and evil behavior nor forget it.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter how you look at it, The Holocaust was, and remains, a stain on human existence. Many authors have tried, via fiction and nonfiction, to portray what Jews, and others considered as “non-human” by the Nazis, went through while that evil was in control of Germany. None more eloquently than LUCY ADLINGTON in her book THE DRESSMAKERS OF AUSCHWITZ.
Normally, I can read a 300-page book in three or four days of two to three hour reading blocks. Not so with this book, not because of the writer’s skill but because of the sheer inhumanity involved. Emotions run high as you read the about the heroic struggle that the 25 or so women who populate this history went through in order to survive extermination.
The main focus of the book is Bracha Kohut who died in 2021 in California (west coast of the United States). She was about 100 years old when she died. Bracha was interviewed extensively by Ms. Adlington and opened many doors for the latter’s research. Bracha was probably the last surviving seamstress of the Upper Tailoring Studio set up in the concentration camp of Auschwitz and its sister extermination camp of Birkenau. Bracha was from the area of Slovakia around Bratislava as were several others. A couple of the women were French Communists and not Jewish.
In addition to Bracha, the reader will meet Alida, Marta, Irene, Renee, Katka, Hunya and a few others. Their lives before The Holocaust are examined. Their trials and tribulations at the concentration camps are explored. What happened to them after liberation is also described.
Not only will the reader learn about these heroic women but will acquire knowledge about the history of Europe from 1920 to 1950. The author presents the development of fashion during the prewar and wartime years. Among the disturbing things I learned was that the fashion designer Hugo Boss used slave labor to produce his products for the better part of a decade. The horrific “Kristallnacht” is another event covered by this book. I learned about “Arisators” who were Aryan managers allowed to take over Jewish owned businesses for little or no cost.
At one point in the story, Irene states, “The only way out (of Auschwitz) is through the chimney!” The Nazis had a rule against stealing anything they stole from the victims but as one said, “Rank has its privileges!”
This book should be required reading for Holocaust doubters. It happened. It should never be forgotten so it cannot be repeated. If you are a history buff, this book is for you. If like to read a well-written story, this book is for you. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
GO! BUY! READ!

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kudos to the author for taking on this story - it certainly should be told. However, I didn’t finish the book; quit reading on page 87. The writing was laborious and the author jumped back and forth between multiple women (including the Nazi spouses). Consequently, it was a difficult read bc I spent too much time trying to recall who was who, making it impossible to make a strong connection to the women of the book. It felt as though I was reading a sterile book report and I never got beyond that feeling so I stopped reading.