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A review by stumpnugget
All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein
5.0
"You are lucky mother. If only I could be certain that someday my children would be standing on my grave."
I have read at least 10 Holocaust memoirs and although all of them tell very similar stories (idyllic pre-war life, initial occupation, hope and belief that the war will end soon, initial forced emigration, hardships of camp, summary executions, horrors of forced marches through snow, etc) I keep reading them because they are all special. The circumstances of each story may be similar, but each individual author struggles against despair in his or her own way. Each approaches reintegration into normal life uniquely too.
One of the things that made this book so special was the post-liberation narrative (including the wonderful epilogue written in 1994) about Gerda forging new relationships and developing her new life. I'm so glad that she didn't stop writing when she came to the end of the war. I can't say too much without spoiling, but I will say that I shed a few man-tears as her post-war drama unfolded.
This was a gripping book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in reading about such things.
I have read at least 10 Holocaust memoirs and although all of them tell very similar stories (idyllic pre-war life, initial occupation, hope and belief that the war will end soon, initial forced emigration, hardships of camp, summary executions, horrors of forced marches through snow, etc) I keep reading them because they are all special. The circumstances of each story may be similar, but each individual author struggles against despair in his or her own way. Each approaches reintegration into normal life uniquely too.
One of the things that made this book so special was the post-liberation narrative (including the wonderful epilogue written in 1994) about Gerda forging new relationships and developing her new life. I'm so glad that she didn't stop writing when she came to the end of the war. I can't say too much without spoiling, but I will say that I shed a few man-tears as her post-war drama unfolded.
This was a gripping book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in reading about such things.