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All But My Life

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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.

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 Holocaust and World War II. She was born in Bielitz, a city in Poland. Gerda, a little girl, was sitting in her living room one day and she heard "Heil Hitler, Heil Hitler." She had never seen anyone in her town so afraid. Gerda noticed that signs started to appear everywhere. For example, No Jews or Dogs Allowed. Gerda was one of the innocent Jews that lived in her hometown.
First, the German police officers took her brother away. Then, the police officers made her mother, father, and her move into a basement. They had to gather up many things as possible and had to move down there. It was hard for them to gather up stuff because usually her dad was the strongest, but he could not pick much up. He could not pick much up because he suffered from a broken arm. Could you imagine gathering up all your life's precious things that you behold in a few minutes or you would be shot? Only the basement was the beginning.
The family was then transported to a ghetto where German soldiers ruled. There, Jews were divided into to groups of men and women. Children had to stay with their mothers if they told the SS man that they were an older age then they were. Gerda's dad went with the men to one concentration camp, while her mom and her went to another. Gerda's mom and her stayed into the same concentration camp for awhile.
From that camp, she was separated from her mom and put a cart with people her own age. One of the people on the cart she knew was her best friend. She saw mostly everything a Holocaust revisionist would deny. She saw gas chambers, whips, people killed, people shot into their grave, some of them included her friends she made, and crematories. Gerda always prayed every night for the war to be over.
The story takes you from one concentration camp to the next where Gerda moves. This is one of my favorite books I ever read. To find out what happens to her at the end, you will have to read it! Trust me, this book is a real page-turner.

Although the holocaust isn't the happiest of times, the author's perseverence is inspiring to everyone. I don't know what more I can say other than that this book should be read by everyone.

All but My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein is the most moving book i've read to date. It's such an inspirational book. I love how she is so strong and it can inspire people to be strong willed and cherish their lives. Gerda went and expirenced a lot and she had people betray her she knew her whole life. The book was just really great because it just shows that you can't depend on people your whole life and you have to be independant and when other people aren't strong enough they need someone to lean on for support and Gerda shows how she was loyal to her friend Ellse through the whole ordeal.

This book tell a story of young Gerda who finds herself in consentration camps, Gettos and on a death march. She and her friends survive this hoorible experiance but Gerda is soon heartbroken beacuse by liberation day only one of her friends survives. This is a great example of courage, though at times a little intence. She is a very inspiring writer.

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. It is the first book I have ever bought besides school books, and it is definately my favorite. From the moment you open this book it is practically impossible to put it down. What a great book!

"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 in the forties; depressing, stressful, and very, very horrifying. This book tells a story no one should avoid; the story of anti-semitism and hate for other human beings and above all, the fact that everyone has different beliefs. I think the author is very brave for letting the world in on what really happened in Nazi Germany, and I suggest that you read or buy this book. It is touching and educational, but is a rather high level of reading and I suggest it for people 11 and up, if not 13 and up. This book doesn't just tell a story, it tells life.

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." This story embodies the best of all genres: action, romance, true crime, biography, and even the occasional nod at humor. I recommend this book especially to young women. A lot can be learned from the strengths....and weaknesses of Gerda. She is a brilliant author who knows the way to bring all of the wonderfully eccentric characters and utterly horrific experiences to life. A must read!!