Gerda Weissmann Klein tells her life in the memoir of All But My Life, presents literature of the Holocaust. Including her struggling for survival in Nazi work camps and the destruction of her family. All But My Life gives and teaches a life lesson in friendship, devotion, and humanity.

The story takes place on September 3, 1939 in Poland. She describes the six-year time of living under Nazi control, and three years, which she spent in the slave labor camps. Gerda and her family were allowed to live in their basement for a few years until they are forced to move and are separated to work in German labor camps.

The setting is very real when they are living in their home, in Poland. A quote that describes their home and their situation in many details, " We had spent a sleepless night in the damp, chilly basement of our home...