Publisher's Synopsis
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, the Upper Tailoring Studio, was established by the camp commandant's wife Hedwig Hoss, 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 helped them not only endure persecution, but also play their part in camp resistance.
