Because sewing in the studio ensured their relative safety, the seamstresses worked in the internal underground of Auschwitz to help other prisoners. Using external fabric suppliers as go-betweens for communications, the tailors kept prisoners informed of the progress of the war. They also were able to get messages out of the camp. When the evacuation of the camp was ordered in 1945, the seamstresses gathered warm clothes before being marched across occupied Poland. Although the other family members did not survive, both Berta and Katka were saved by their sewing ability and employment in the tailoring studio.
