FREE ESSAY ON GERDA KLEIN

GERDA KLEIN

Brett McPoland
All But My Life, Gerda Klein
Gerda Klein's book on her experiences during the holocaust touched me in a way that no
book ever has. In comparison to all those self-help books out there like the Chicken Soup
books, they are left in the dust. She recounts the hardships that happened to her as a
teen and into her early twenties in such a way that I almost felt I were there next to
her seeing them with my own eyes. Mrs. Klein showed us that with a little hope and the
right encouragement a person could get through any hardship and come out on top of the
situation. As quoted in her book, she can walk knee deep in mud and come out clean.
In regards to how she survived the anti-Semitism and the separation from her family, she
did it through the use of her willingness to stay strong. Gerda always tried to keep one
of her dear friends close by, like Ilsa. In believing that the war would soon be over or
the inevitable liberation from the Nazi tyranny, she kept surviving. The hope to see her
parents and brother Arthur was a residing emotion in her mind for a long period of her
ordeal. Although sometimes she did not think of them for purposes of reminiscing, their
memories would not stray too far. Truly, her tight little clique was also a powerful
force in their struggle. For example, to help raise the spirits of the rest of the girls
in the transit-camps she wrote a little skit and some of the girls participated in the
play. She enjoyed the feeling of how she could make everyone laugh and just for a short
time, forget where they really were.
In as much as this whole experience was horrifying, it must have been unexplainable, too.
It only seemed that Gerda knew how to assume her role and her family's in German society.
Gerda carried herself as if the dilemmas she encountered were in a bad dream. I do not
even recall reading an explanation given by her or to her about why the Jews were being
persecuted. The people she associated with also seemed to simply accept the situation
dealt to them. Gerda could only hope for liberation not for answers. As far as good Nazis
being involved in her life, there were hardly any at all. One, though, that could fit
this description was the supervisor who chose to take them from one camp to go back to
work in the factory on the looms.
Undoubtedly the war took its toll on everyone. Although Gerda endured indescribable
hardships, she remained pretty much the same imaginative, warm person that she always
was. Of course she matured way faster than a person of her age should under normal
circumstances. Gerda went through ordeals as a teenage girl that, as a man, I really do
not think I could have put up with. It seems that everything that happened to her was
fought and overcome by the person that she already was. Obviously at times she nearly
gave up hope but that was to be expected from anyone in those circumstances. Gerda had
will, drive, and determination powered by the love of her family. When she finally
realized that she would never see any of them again, Gerda moved on and lived to see the
next day as anyone should after a catastrophe. At the end of the war when she met her
future husband, Kurt, she still retained all of the many emotions that girls are equipped
with. All this after marching for months in the snow and hardly being able to walk, she
still was stricken with the love bug when liberation from oppression was achieved.
Bibliography
Gerda Klein, All But My Life