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

Very readable, a sobering account of how people were treated by the Nazis in WW11, but also a tribute to the human spirit and the strength and support between a group of women.

A great book,you can't put it down

**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.

Such a powerful book, so much pain, strong ladies, so much detail, I have read many books on Auschwitz but this one will stay with me for a long time

Excellent story would recommend you read it.Being a sewer my self , I can understand why they kept on sewing in such difficult and horrendous conditions.

I have read all of Lucy's books but this one was rather different. Her account of the women who worked in Auschwitz's "Upper Tailoring Studio", sewing as if their lives depended upon it - as it truly did - is moving and awe-inspiring. Although it is a very well-researched non-fiction account it is written in a very accessible and readable style. The author does not shy away from describing the gruesome conditions and almost unimaginable torments of life in the death camps but throughout the story the beacon of courage and survival burns bright. A very worthwhile book which adds an important contribution to accounts of the Holocaust for both those who survived and the families of those who did not.

Incredible! The resilience of these women was astounding and humbling. I did enjoy reading the last 2 paragraphs of page 277.. I only had basic knowledge of what happened to Jews, this is a real education

Just a couple of pages of Dressmaking ,very dull ,too many characters to get involved with,hard to follow

As a woman who sews, I found this book to be educational, fascinating and inspirational. It's long, but worth the time to read it.

When I purchased this book, I was expecting a "story" but got quite a shocking surprise to discover it was not only to remind us of the horrors of the Holocaust, but a history lesson we would never find in a classroom, or a texxt book.A story of unknown strengths, endurance, resiliance, lifelong friendship, loyalty, unbelievable hardships and the power of positivity. Yes, many more characters than a normal book would introduce, and often could not keep track of them, but in the big scheme of lhings, just as in our own lives, everything is inter-twined, and each person impacted the lives of the Dressmakers in one way or another.A huge thank you to Dr Lore Shelley for realizing that the experiences and memories of these survivors needed to be documented and shared, and by starting the daunting task of contacting this women (and men) and gathering the information. And another big thanks to the author Lucy Addington for all the work and time she invested in completing the project - chronicling the submissions and all of the research and follow up with several of the main characters.Among other things, it serves to remind us that we are so lucky to live in the world we live in today.

This book was so in-depth of just how brutal and inhumane the Germans were. The POWS were put through hell. Very intense and saddening at times. The strength and courage these prisoners had is beyond incredible.

Love the history! Very good read!

I found the book to be insightful and interesting read as I learn more about this difficult time in human history and the will to survive through this shameful part of the 20 th century