Part 1: Chapters 1 and 2 Summary and Analysis

All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein is the true story of her family's tragic struggle as Polish Jews during the German invasion in World War II.

Fifteen-year-old Gerda Weissmann's attention is transfixed on the watch laying on the carpet stuck at 9:10 on Sunday, September 3, 1939. It is the moment that the Nazis are descending upon her small town of Bielitz, Poland. It is the day that will change the rest of her and her family's lives forever. With the rumble of tanks and the sounds of "Heil Hitler", the formerly serene town was under besiege. Gerda's uncle had sent a cable in August warning the Weissmanns that "Poland's last hour has come." However, Gerda's mother, Helene, kept the message from her husband, who was recovering from a mild heart attack. Therefore, the family had waited to...