All But My Life-- Book #2

I read All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein for my RS book club meeting, which was yesterday night. I wasn't able to pick up a copy of the book until last Sunday, but it was easy to read the entire thing in just a few days.

All But My Life is an autobiography written by Klein. It focuses on her six years spent as a slave laborer for the Nazis, and ends with her liberation by US soldiers in 1945. Gerda was only 15 when the Germans invaded her country of Poland. She watched her only sibling, a brother named Arthur, leave home, forced to join the army, and never saw him again. She was also eventually separated from both her parents, never learning their fates, though it is likely they ended up at Auschwitz.

Gerda herself eventually worked at five different labor camps, surviving horrific conditions, starvation, and some of the worst of Nazi brutality. She managed to keep pictures of her brother and parents under the soles of her heavy boots. In the beginning of 1945, she-- one of approximately 4,000 women-- began a 350 mile death march, and ended up one of only 120 survivors. During this march, her best friend, Ilse, who had been at her side throughout the previous six years, died in her arms.

In May of 1945, one day shy of her 21st birthday, Gerda finally saw liberation in the form of US Army Lieutenant, Kurt Klein, a German-born US citizen. Though because of starvation Gerda weighed only 68 lbs and her typically black hair was white, Kurt saw something more than her haggard appearance. The two felt an instant connection and became engaged later that year. Kurt eventually brought Gerda back to the United States, where they have lived ever since.

Gerda was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama just last year. She has spent her life telling her story and working to promote tolerance.

Now for my review. I have read a lot of Holocaust literature. I took a whole course on it during my undergraduate degree. This book is at the top of what I've read. Gerda's writing style was frustrating at times, but I kept reminding myself that a memoir like this is going to be fragmented in parts. It isn't as smooth as a novel, obviously, and some parts were confusing. However, after going through all that she did, I am surprised she is able to recall all of her experiences with such clarity. She is definitely a resilient soul. I can't help but believe that she was preserved in order to be able to tell her story, especially after reading of so many instances in which she narrowly escaped death.

For these and other reasons, I give this book 4 stars. I think Holocaust literature has a special place in society-- many of these people have spent their life as a witness of what they saw and went through. I think their stories should be read and remembered as much as possible.