The grim conditions that faced many Jewish immigrants in London's East End were recreated in the BBC2 series The Victorian Slum.
Mandy Howarth, from Essex, one of those who relived the hand-to-mouth existence of the sweatshops, learned that her own Jewish great-grandfather from Odessa had found refuge here and worked in the clothes trade.
"Knowing it's your own family that was treated that way is really upsetting," she said. "They were prisoners in their workplace."
To watch the show on the BBC iPlayer, click here.
