The Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation (kleinfoundation@usa.net) creates the opportunity for young people to understand the world and translate that understanding into positive action. This non-profit, public foundation promotes education which teaches tolerance and respect for others, and encourages community service focusing on ending hunger.

All But My Life is the true story of one girls life during the second world war. Gerda Weissmann Klein writes about her six horrific years and her many brushes of death. She is seperated from her parents after living in their cellar for over a year. The Nazis order the men to one city and the women to another. Once she and her mother reach the town, she is shoved in a different direction. This story displays one teen-agers courage while she was living in Hell. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who, like me, love to read and learn about World War Two. Congratulations Gerda Weissmann Klein on the best book I have ever read!

These lasts words, Gerda Weissmann hears ring out over the crowd of Jews as they are herded away like cattle to an uncertain end. The person shouting them is her mother who is about to be ripped from her life. The Nazi's have taken everything she holds dear, family, home, friends and now she will fight for all that remains, her life and dignity.

This book is a remarkable slice of time and life, written by a true survivor who lived through the times that tried men's souls. As she wades through the atrocities of a Nazi occupation, concentration camps, and a death march amidst freezing temperatures, to be liberated by her one true love, she is true to her mother's request. This is an amazing story that will stay a part of you forever. I am astonished at her strength of spirit and her continued belief in the future. A book doesn't get much better than this. Kelsana 6/19/01

I want to thank Gerda for sharing her experiences in Nazi Germany. Her accounts are so horrific, but within it all I also felt her profound sense of hope and faith. In reading her memoir I was moved by the thought of what an incredible plan God had in store for Gerda. She survived to tell not only her story but that of so many Jews who lost there lives in WWII. Gerda, God is working through you to share with the world what Mankind is capable of.....ManKind, such an ironic word to use in that sentence, for Gerda saw very little kindness in most of Nazi Germany, yet she lights the precious moments of when kindness was shown to her and her friends. It is a book I shall never forget, and when I am feeling challenged in my own life, I will pick up Gerda's book and re-read, and re-read, for I know I have more to learn for this work. Thank-you Gerda! God Bless!

We typically don't write or receive personal letters anymore. That is just one of many reasons why this book, with the different life experiences Kurt and Gerda W. Klein had during the war, is so compelling. Imagine this 25 yr. old U.S. serviceman helping this young woman, who had grown from adolescence to adulthood on a Nazi death march, come to grips with who she is and what's to become of her. The book provides a first hand account and perspective through their letters to eachother, as the hopeful re-building of countries and lives is surrounding them. This is a must read, especially poignant in the tenuous world situation we all find ourselves in, post Sept. 11th. The fact that these two young people married and built a life together is a wonderful love story.

Just when you think that the world today is a cold/harsh place and people are uncaring, a story comes along to challenge your thinking. "The Hours After" is one such book. Gerda faced the ultimate horrors of the Holocaust and near death, losing family in the process.

When you are at the depths of misery with her, an angel by the name of Kurt comes along to rescue her and nurse her back to health. Ah, but all doesn't end so nice and neat in times of war. Instead of giving up on each other, they correspond back and forth until at long last they are finally reunited and then married. I went through a lot of tissues on this one.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to meet these two incredible people who by chance were signing copies of this book at a social studies conference. While observing them, you could just feel the love and warmth they exuded.

I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE. THE STORY OF GERDA SHOWS HOW THINGS CAN CHANGE SO FAST IN A SPLIT SECOND. THIS STORY IS A REMINDER HOW IN LIFE WE SHOULD NOT WASTE A MOMENT TO ENJOY IT WITH OUR FAMILIES. IT AMAZES ME HOW GERDA HAD SO MUCH COURAGE TO CONTINUE IN SITUATIONS THAT WERE SIMPY AWFUL.