All But My Life [Paperback]

 

 

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All but my life is a memoir about a girl named Gerda Weissmann having to deal with being Jewish during the Holocaust. She grew up in Poland with her parents and brother Arthur in a small town called Bielitz. Gerda was 16 years old when the war with Germany started. She had to get used to a "not-so-normal" life. From her brother being sent to a camp to teir family having to move into the basement of their own home, Gerda has to adapt to so many new things. Finally when they get settled into their new lives they get a letter from the German government telling them they have to move to a camp. Devastated, their family packs and then settles into their new "shack" they have to call home. A few days after getting used to the shack, they found out that Gerda's father was being sent to a camp and then day later Gerda and her mother get separated from eachouther and both sent to their own camps, never to see each other again.
All her life Gerda had relied on her parents for security. She never had to worry about working because her parents were taking care of their family. How in a new camp, all alone with just her best friend and many other Jewish girls her age, they all had to do everything the Germans told them to.
Gerda is one of the stongest girls I have ever read about. She has to go through so much throighout the whole book. She has to deal with leaving everyone in her family; after having to work in a Jewish camps run by the Germans, she has to walk miles after miles to Auschwitz. During her walk, the war ends and the Jewish survivor are all set free, Gerda meets her future husband while recovering from malnutrition. When she recovers, She and her husband move to the U.S. where she had to get used to being "free" for she had not been for so many years.
"Freedom" is a work I have seemed to always take for granted for I have never been a slave or been told everything that I was allowed to do. All of my life I have been free and after reading this book I have realized how luky I am. Gerda had to deal with so much and never gave up. She was so strong when everything else game up. One of her quotes from the book that always sticks out when I think of her book is "Now I have to live, because I am alone and nothing can hurt me anymore."
She lost everything, and when most people would give up she kept going. This was one of the things that made me enjoy this book. Gerda's ambition was amazing at times, and you just wanted to see what she might do next. The emotion that Gerda puts into this book made it a great book to read, It helps you understand what she was feeling at this time.
After finishing this book I felt I had a different feeling towards life. So many things I can do on a daily basis I take for granted. This book really showed me that the problems i thought i had arent really problems at all. Gerda went through so much during this book and she still continued. Anything you want to do, you can do it if you believe in yourself.
So in conclusion I think this book is a very good book. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the Holocaust because although in may seem sad at times it gives you a whole different prospective on the word "Life".

Gerda Weissman was born in relative luxury in a Polish town in the 1920's. Virtually until the day the Nazis invade Poland in 1920, her life is filled with ease and happiness. Then, because the family is Jewish, tragedies begin in quick succession. Gerda's older brother is taken away by the Nazis, the three remaining family members (Gerda, her mother, and her father) must give up their home and live in the ghetto, and finally, most tragically of all, Gerda is separated from her parents. Never knowing where they went or even if they are alive, Gerda must spend the next five years of her life in German labor camps.

As I read this book, one aspect of it (and this aspect is in many Jewish Holocaust memoirs) continually astounded me. While the events Gerda writes about are totally inhumane and depressing, she somehow manages to find at least the smallest good thing about every experience in the book. She not only remembers the horrors of the camps, she remembers her true friends there and the camaraderie between the women. She not only recounts the tragic leaving of her brother, she writes of the legacy of courage he left her. And when the war is finally over, Gerda's writing tells us of sorrow and loss, yet also of the exciting and promising life ahead of her. It is, as always, refreshing and inspiring to read such an honest yet optimistic memoir. Written with grace and dignity, "All But My Life" is a well-done Holcaust memoir.

When I was 13 my mother and I stayed with my aunt in British Columbia. I was allowed to browse through my aunt's bookshelves to see if there was something I could read during my summer with her. I picked up "All but my life" and within the first few paragraphs I was hooked.

I remember trying to read Anne Frank's published diary but just could not seem to get into Ms. Frank's style of writing. (no offense to Anne Frank) With Gerda Klein's life story it was the opposite, I couldn't seem to get enough.

This is the first book on the holocaust I ever read, and still to this day, 20 years later, I still have that copy of her book. My aunt was kind enough to let me have the book so that I could finish the story as we drove back across country towards home.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A reader's favorite book
This book held my attention from page one, until the very end. I actually have read this book( or at least large parts of it) ten or more times. Read more

Published on April 12 2004 by Carol Raup

5.0 out of 5 stars impressive... truly.
This book was assigned by my English teacher. The first page, i thought of reading it as a chore. After that, i couldnt put it down. i read the whole thing in two days. Read more

Published on Mar 9 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars One womans life in the Holocaust
Gerda Weissmann is a Jew living in the part of Poland that was attached to the Austro-Hungarian Empire during WWI. Read more

Published on Mar 4 2004 by Courtney Rabideau

5.0 out of 5 stars All But My Life
All But My Life is a must-read book that every girl should read. This non-fiction story is about a young girl named Gerda Weissmann Klein, also the author, who lived during the... Read more

Published on Nov 20 2003 by Megan

5.0 out of 5 stars My All-time Favorite Book
Although the holocaust isn't the happiest of times, the author's perseverence is inspiring to everyone. Read more

Published on Sep 4 2003 by Anne

5.0 out of 5 stars The most moving book i've read to date
All but My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein is the most moving book i've read to date. It's such an inspirational book. Read more

Published on May 27 2003 by Emily Frey

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE GRETEST HOLOCAUST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ!
This book tell a story of young Gerda who finds herself in consentration camps, Gettos and on a death march. Read more

Published on April 13 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars You just can't put it down!
I had initially borrowed this book from the library and once I was done reading it I had to buy it because I wanted so much to share it with others. Read more

Published on Jan 30 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting Title for a Touching Story
"All but My Life" by Gerda Weismann Klein was one of he the most emotional books I've ever read. It's not fiction, it's reality, and the author told it like it was in the Europe... Read more

Published on Aug 21 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Very moving
As a young girl myself who is about to be married, I found myself reflecting a lot on my own life while reading "All But My Life. Read more

Published on April 24 2002 by J. Schmitt

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