TYPICALLY, I CAN READ a book within two weeks. But not Four Red Sweaters—Powerful True Stories of Women and the Holocaust by Lucy Adlington. I had to renew this book at my local library in order to finish it.
Why? The content is so difficult, disturbing and devastating that I could only read this work of nonfiction in small chunks. But I was determined to finish this book about Jock, Anita, Chana and Regina—four Jewish girls living in Nazi Germany—and all connected by red sweaters. I owed it to them to learn more about the awful atrocities inflicted under Adolph Hitler’s rule by those who lived, breathed, and followed him and his ideology.
All the while I was reading Four Red Sweaters, a small voice in my head whispered warnings in words like a knock on the door, fear, anti-immigration sentiment, snatched, disappeared, deported, deception, secrecy, dehumanizing… The parallels to today were not lost on me.
REAL PEOPLE WITH STORIES
What I particularly like about this book, if one can ever really “like” a book on such a topic, is the personalization. Anita is not just #69388 inked onto her left forearm at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She is a girl who arrives at the concentration camp wearing shoes adorned with pompoms and tied with red shoelaces. She is a girl who knew how to play the cello. That skill eventually saved her.
But too many died. Millions and millions. That included the Fink family, brutally murdered by their neighbors in an act so heinous I can’t share it here. Turn to page 96 in the book. The Finks were extended family of Jock, a main character in this story. She was one of the “lucky” Jewish children who escaped Nazi Germany, along with her sisters, on a Kindertransport, an all-out effort by brave souls to get Jewish children out of the country to safety. But Jock’s parents and brothers died at the hands of the Nazis.
The pages of Four Red Sweaters are filled with heroic acts, bravery, defiance and determination that show the incredible strength of the human spirit. There existed a mentality of surviving together or dying together. The pages of this book are also filled with stories of unbelievable, unfathomable cruelty.
A NECESSARY READ
Author Adlington backs her writing up with 23 pages of source notes. In small print. That’s a whole lot of documentation in researching and writing this book. I cannot imagine the emotional toll this took on her. I also cannot imagine anyone reading Four Red Sweaters and not feeling deeply moved and worried, but also grateful to Adlington for sharing the stories of Jock, Anita, Chana and Regina and the broader stories of the Holocaust. We need to read about, study, learn and remember the past so as not to repeat it.
Near the very end of Four Red Sweaters, Adlington writers about a knitter who, in 2013, designed Remembrance socks. Heatherly Walker’s sock pattern honors Regina and the others who were forced to knit socks and more for the Nazis and their families. She incorporated hidden Jewish stars into the pattern, which is available on the Ravelry website for crafters. Knitting is an integral part of the stories Adlington shares in her book.
DEFIANCE, COURAGE, HOPE
One seemingly small act stands out for me in Four Red Sweaters. Regina’s friend Esther, after foraging mushrooms for the Nazis in the Sobibor extermination camp, walks into the SS canteen, sees a pot of soup cooking and spits in it. And the Nazis eat it. I can only imagine the satisfaction Esther felt in that moment of defiance. Endless examples of defiance, courage, hope and resilience are knitted into the pages of Four Red Sweaters.
As challenging as it was for me to read this book, I needed to do so. For to stop reading when the content grew increasingly difficult and disturbing would have been to do exactly as the Nazis desired. Nobody must know. But we must all know. And, sometimes, like Esther, we must spit in the soup.
#
TELL ME: If you’ve read Four Red Sweaters, how did you react? What stands out for you in the book? Special thanks to Missy’s Crafty Mess (the blog of an avid reader and knitter) for writing about Four Red Sweaters, which led me to this book about the Holocaust. I am grateful for her recommendation.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
The (now) trite phrase “It can’t happen here…” keeps playing in my head. Except it very well could, if we aren’t paying attention or have convinced ourselves it will only happen to “them” and not us. The other phrase that haunts me is: “But I haven’t done anything wrong…” as if you are the one who gets to decide that.
Thank you for this comment, because you are so right on all points. It “can” happen here. And it is starting. Everyone needs to stay informed, use their voices… We cannot remain silent.
this gave me chills just to read about this. where we are now, confirms that this can happen anywhere, including here. what a powerful read, and as you said, it must have been very difficult to read, but so very important to do so. I will definitely seek it out.
Beth, you are a woman of deep compassion, one of the many qualities I appreciate in you. I appreciate also that you are well-read, always seeking knowledge, setting an example of goodness and kindness.
This sounds like a difficult but important book to read, especially now. May we all be inspired by the “Endless examples of defiance, courage, hope and resilience are knitted into the pages of Four Red Sweaters.”
Yes, this is an important read, especially now.
This was such a heart wrenching book to read. The author has written another book named The Dressmakers of Auschwitz that is equally heartbreaking and inspiring.
I saw she wrote the dressmakers book. But I’m not ready to read that just yet. Maybe next winter.
Audrey, I finally. made it through the book, and like you, it took me a while because it was so heartbreaking. I had to take it in small pieces. I learned so much from this book and my main takeaway was that it made it all so personal for me. it moved from the big picture to the individual lives it impacted, and I know these are just 4 lives of so many, but it really makes it hit home. thank you for telling me about this book. their stories needed to be told, along with so many other, most of which will be lost to time and circumstance. I don’t think I can bring myself to read the other book, at least for a while, but I am always amazed by how people are able to survive in the most horrible of circumstances.
You are welcome re my recommending “Four Red Sweaters.” You’re right in that the personalization of numbers leaves a lasting impact. Like you, it will be awhile before I am able to read the other book. But so important to read.