Nonfiction Book Club: The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

Seekonk, MA – Join us for a lively discussion of The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington on Tuesday, September 27th at 6:00 PM at Seekonk Public Library. The title is available digitally as an ebook and audiobook through Libby, or you may place a hold and pick up a print copy at the library. New members are always welcome!

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.

For more event information, visit www.seekonkpl.org  or email library@seekonkpl.org.