a memoir : from Auschwitz survivor to presidents' tailor
Martin Greenfield was taken from his Czechoslovakian home in 1944 at age fifteen and transported to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz with his family. There, Greenfield came face to face with 'Angel of Death' Dr. Joseph Mengele and was divided forever from his parents, sisters, and baby brother. Greenfield remembers his desperation and fear as a teenager alone in the death camp--and how an SS soldier's torn shirt dramatically altered the course of his life. He learned how to sew and when he began wearing the shirt under his prisoner uniform, he learned that clothes possess great power and could even help save his life. From sweeping floors at a New York clothing factory, to founding America's premier custom suit company, Greenfield built a fashion empire. Now 86 years old and working with his sons, Greenfield has dressed the famous and powerful of D.C. and Hollywood, including Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, celebrities Paul Newman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jimmy Fallon, and the stars of Martin Scorsese's films.
