All But My Life All But My Life

All But My Life

A Memoir

    • 4.6 • 253 Ratings
    • $11.99
    • $11.99

Publisher Description

All But My Life is the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein's six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty.

From her comfortable home in Bielitz (present-day Bielsko) in Poland to her miraculous survival and her liberation by American troops--including the man who was to become her husband--in Volary, Czechoslovakia, in 1945, Gerda takes the reader on a terrifying journey.

Gerda's serene and idyllic childhood is shattered when Nazis march into Poland on September 3, 1939. Although the Weissmanns were permitted to live for a while in the basement of their home, they were eventually separated and sent to German labor camps. Over the next few years Gerda experienced the slow, inexorable stripping away of "all but her life." By the end of the war she had lost her parents, brother, home, possessions, and community; even the dear friends she made in the labor camps, with whom she had shared so many hardships, were dead.

Despite her horrifying experiences, Klein conveys great strength of spirit and faith in humanity. In the darkness of the camps, Gerda and her young friends manage to create a community of friendship and love. Although stripped of the essence of life, they were able to survive the barbarity of their captors. Gerda's beautifully written story gives an invaluable message to everyone. It introduces them to last century's terrible history of devastation and prejudice, yet offers them hope that the effects of hatred can be overcome.

GENRE
History
RELEASED
1995
March 31
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
256
Pages
PUBLISHER
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
SELLER
Macmillan
SIZE
3.4
MB

Customer Reviews

more books to read ,

All but my life.

Beautifully narrated, in the midst of such pain and inhuman treatment. I would recommend this book. It moved along and kept my attention. Strength, endurance, vision and faith are very clear....And a true love story blossoms along with long awaited freedom!

Bjmedd ,

Hope is everything

Whereas I loved her memoir, it was horribly edited. Her perseverance and honesty about her hopes and dreams and how she knew in her heart that she couldn’t settle for less than that was very inspiring. Trusting her gut ended up being her salvation. It’s definitely something I will think about for quite a while.

DollyHailey ,

Best book I've ever Read

I liked this book, and being around her age really connected me to how she felt during that time with love and her decisions to do what she thought was best. I would really recommend anyone interested in this topic to read this book cause it changed me, and I'm sure anyone else who read this book.

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