The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive

During the Holocaust, twenty-five young prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp were selected to create and sew fashionable clothes—mostly Jewish girls. They hoped that this work would save them from gas chambers. The girls worked in an “elite” workshop at the camp base called the “Upper Tailoring House,” founded by Hedwig Höss, the wife of the camp commandant, who was supported by the wives of the SS guards and officers. They produced high-quality clothing for women of Nazi Berlin high society—and for the SS men themselves. In "The Auschwitz Tailors," historian Lucy Edlington tells the story of these brave women’s feats and sheds light on a little-known chapter of World War II and the Holocaust. The girls’ family and friendship ties not only helped them survive persecution, but also played a role in camp resistance. The author draws on many sources, including interviews with the last surviving seamstress.