Gerda Weissmann Klein
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| Gerda Weissmann Klein | |
| Born: | 1924 Bielsko, Poland |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | memoirist |
| Nationality: | Polish-American |
Gerda Weissman Klein (b. 1924 in Bielsko, Poland) is a Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust. She has written several books about her experiences. Her story was made into a film, One Survivor Remembers, which won an Academy Award in 1995.
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[edit] Early life
Klein describes her childhood as happy and tranquil. Her parents, Julius and Helene, provided a comfortable middle class life for her and her older brother, Arthur. Klein grew up idolizing Arthur, whom she describes as popular and a gifted student.
[edit] Life under the Nazis
When Klein was fifteen, Nazi Germany took over Poland in the Invasion of Poland. Shortly after the invasion began, the family received a telegram from Klein's uncle saying that the Germans were advancing quickly and the family should leave Poland immediately. However, Klein's father had just suffered a mild heart attack, and doctors advised that he not be moved or subjected to undue stress. Julius Weissmann ordered his children to flee without him, but they refused.
When the invasion ended, Klein and her family watched in disbelief as people whom they had considered friends began flying the Flag of Nazi Germany and using the Hitler salute. In mid-October, Arthur received a letter from the Germans. As a male between sixteen and fifty, Arthur was required to register. On October 18, 1939, Arthur left according to his summons and never saw his family again.
Klein and her parents were forced to live in the basement of their home and later moved to a Jewish ghetto. In 1942, Klein was deported to work at a textile mill in Bolkenhain, Silesia. Later on, she was sent to labor camps in Marzdorf, Landshut and Gruenberg. In 1945, the inmates at Klein's work camp were sent on a 350-mile death march to avoid the advance of Allied forces.
[edit] Liberation
In May 1945, Klein was liberated by forces of the United States Army in Volary, Czechoslovakia. When she was rescued, she weighed 68 pounds. While recuperating, she met Kurt Klein, a soldier in the United States Army. He was born in Europe and immigrated to the United States to escape Nazism. Both of his parents had been murdered by the Nazi's at Auschwitz. The two fell in love and became engaged in September 1945.
[edit] Life after the War
In 1946, Gerda and Kurt Klein were married in Paris. They settled in Buffalo, New York and had three children. She became involved with local charities and later began to speak about her experiences during the war. In 1998, the Kleins started the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation, which promotes tolerance, respect, and empowerment of students through education and community service. Kurt Klein died in 2002, but Gerda remains active in the foundation and regularly speaks about her experiences during the Holocaust. On January 27, 2006, she spoke to the United Nations as part of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of Holocaust victims.
[edit] Books
Books by Gerda Weissman Klein include:
- All But My Life (1957)
- The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath (2001, cowritten with Kurt Klein)
- A Boring Evening At Home
- The Promise of a New Spring
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- 'Klein, Gerda Weissman. All But My Life HarperCollins, 1995.
