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

Content Warning: This section references acts of racism and violence that occurred during the Holocaust, as well as suicidal ideation and sexual assault.

Bracha Berkovič is the narrative’s protagonist. Though the book includes information and anecdotes from several of the seamstresses and other inmates, Bracha’s experience is primary; bookending the text with Adlington’s face-to-face meetings with Bracha solidifies her importance. It is not until the book’s final chapter, however, that readers are made aware that the “Mrs. Kohút” of the Introduction is indeed Bracha Berkovič. Her distinction as the only remaining survivor of the Upper Tailoring Studio (as of Adlington’s research) makes her a logical choice as a central figure.

Bracha was born in 1921 in Czechoslovakia (present-day Ukraine) and exposed to sewing at an early age: Her father, Solomon, was a tailor. Initially she did not consider dressmaking as a profession; her sister Katka (also a seamstress at the Upper Tailoring Studio) was much more adept at sewing. Bracha instead pursued secretarial training, expecting to marry and have children one day. As a teenager, she joined a Zionist youth organization.

Prior to the opening of the Upper Tailoring Studio, Bracha worked physically demanding assignments at Auschwitz and stuck closely to Katka—her only family member not killed by the Nazis.