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

In her research for the book, Lucy Adlington consulted a survey of Auschwitz survivors that asked them about the reasons for their survival. She explains that “the majority of respondents ticked boxes for Luck, followed by Faith and Friends” (309). Examine the circumstances that resulted in the survival of two or more figures in the book. To what extent was survival a matter of luck, and to what extent did resourcefulness or initiative matter?

Levi Strauss, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, and Diane von Furstenberg are among several renowned Jewish fashion designers. Choose one or two designers and research their contributions to both the fashion industry and Jewish culture.

In Chapter 11, several of the Upper Tailoring Studio survivors address the decision they faced as to whether to talk about their experiences at Auschwitz with others—especially children and grandchildren. What are the risks and benefits of speaking about such trauma for both survivors and non-survivors, Jews and non-Jews?

The book focuses on the experiences of the seamstresses and other women at Auschwitz and does not delve into life at the male camps. Conduct some research on the similarities and differences between the male and female camps. In what ways did gender create a unique set of challenges for female prisoners at Auschwitz? Consider work assignments, physical differences, divisions and hierarchies that existed among prisoners, and cultural norms and expectations about gender.

The book provides some information regarding the trials of SS officers and their wives. Given both the expectation that Nazi wives should support their husbands’ efforts and the relative lack of agency afforded to women, what portrait does the book paint regarding their complicity?

Perhaps the most famous quote about the Holocaust is “No poetry after Auschwitz” by German philosopher Theodor Adorno. Though its meaning in context is more complex, the quote has frequently been cited as evidence that the events of Holocaust are too atrocious to be the subject of art. Yet numerous historical fiction novels center on World War II and its brutalities. What advantages and disadvantages do fictionalized stories have over the true accounts of those directly impacted by the war? What is the value in reading World War II novels, particularly for non-survivors?

Though the World War II years are perhaps the strongest example of Jewish persecution, such mistreatment was not new. Research and then discuss the history of antisemitism and its historical causes. Focus on one or two specific time periods that you feel helped create the atmosphere of pre-World War II antisemitism.

Adlington notes that because the seamstresses saw their work clothing SS officers and their wives, they often felt a unique kind of survivor’s guilt after the war ended. However, other camp labor also aided the Nazi regime. Keeping in mind The Politics of Clothing, was there something unique about the seamstresses’ unwilling contributions to the war effort? If so, what, and why?