Gerda Weissmann Klein

Gerda Weissmann Klein is the author of the story, "All But My Life." The title refers to what the Germans took from Gerda. Gerda is a fifteen-year-old girl when the Germans invade her village of Bielitz, Poland. Gerda lives in Bielitz with her mother, father, and older brother. For two years, Gerda and her family are terrorized and stripped of their property and dignity. They are forced to give up their family home to Germans and move into the cellar. As the Nazis begin sending off the young men, Gerda has to face the departure of her beloved brother, Arthur. Arthur, who is four years her senior, is her idol. She has always looked to him for advice and support. Now, in the most harrowing time of her life, one that could have never been imagined, she depends on the words he told her before he...