Analysis Of All But My Life By Gerda Weissmann Klein

Over the years, the Holocaust has been presented in many different ways. There have been movies, novels, biographies, memoirs, and many more. Three ways that it has been presented has been through All But My Life, The Book Thief and Life is Beautiful. These pieces of work are based in Germany around the Nazi party, and their leader, Adolf Hitler.

All But My Life is a memoir written by Gerda Weissmann Klein. Gerda told the story of her grueling experiences she had during the Holocaust. “My experience has taught me that all of us have a reservoir of untapped strength that comes to the fore at moments of crisis” (Weissmann 250). This quote kind of stood out to me a bit because of a personal experience I have had. Obviously girls can be

cruel and mean, unfortunately I was put in the middle of the so called “mean girls.” No one ever thought of me as one to stand up for myself or get into someone's face for talking about me. When I had finally had enough I built up enough courage and stood up for myself and for what I thought was right, and I did not ever have that issue again. I did not realize how strong of a person I was until someone pushed me to my limits, and when I used that strength I had the power to stop it.

Gerda talked about how she got separated from her family, and walked miles from camp to camp. The one thing that saved Gerda throughout the whole book, was the ski shoes that her father had forced her to take along with her. Through Gerda’s journey she said that “Survival is both an exalted privilege and a painful burden” (Weissmann 247). Gerda felt that she was happy to be alive but the burden of living, was carrying this time in her life around with

her for the rest of her life.

Gerda had to think of all the family members and friends she lost, while she lived. In the beginning of the book, Gerda’s brother gets sent away and she is left with her mother and father. The one thing that held Gerda together throughout her journey was the love she had for her family, and the love they abundantly gave back to her. One quote that Gerda said was that “They faced what the morning would bring with the only weapon they had- their love for eachother. Love is great, love is the foundation of nobility, it conquers obstacles and is a deep well of truth and strength” (Weissmann 86). This quote does not only apply to Gerda and her family. Once Gerda was rescued and slowly started getting back to good health, she met her soulmate. Kurt Klein came into the picture and changed Gerda’s outlook on her whole experience. Kurt was at the hospital with Gerda every second he had the chance. Kurt in a way saved Gerda’s life with his affectionate and patient love he had for her. Gerda’s life was obviously turned around a little bit after this terrible war, but I feel as if Gerda took the experience and found ways to be thankful. Gerda would have never met her husband if it were not for her needing saved, she would have never had the

family that she does and she also sees things in a different perspective. Many people nowadays do not know how to be thankful for what they are given on a daily basis and I think that is a valuable lesson to be learned at an early age. The presentation of this book for me was eye opening and very reassuring that people as individuals do not realize how good we actually have it.
The Book Thief is a fictional novel about the Holocaust. In this book, death is the narrator portraying the story of young Liesel Meminger, her Momma, and Pappa. Liesel lost her brother on the train to meet their foster parents. Rosa Hubermann was her new foster mom, and Hans Hubermann was to be her father. Hans had a brilliant light that shone no matter what the circumstance and Rosa a little more stern, still had a soft heart deep down. Not having much money, Rosa made their money by doing laundry and ironing. Liesel had a thing for books, but had a slight problem that, she could not really read. Book after book, Liesel would “borrow” them from different places. Max Vandenburg was a Jew. When Max came to the Hubermanns one evening in terrible conditions the Hubermanns opened up their home to him. Liesel and Max had a bond that was unbreakable. Liesel always had a positive outlook on life even when things were as bad as they could get. Death once said “It amazes me what humans can do, even when streams are flowing down their faces and they stagger on, coughing and searching, and finding” (Zusak 536). This quote definitely reminds me of Liesel, because of the determination she had each day to make it a good one, even though there was an evil war going on all around her. Liesel also had another side to her that she hid more often. Liesel did not agree with what was going on around her and definitely did not agree with the actions that the Nazi party was partaking in. “Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day” (Zusak 211). this quote goes to show that Liesel was not always happy with what was going on, but she had no other option but to go on and smile like nothing was bothering her. Liesel’s best friend was Rudy. Rudy had yellow hair and an outgoing personality. Rudy loved Liesel from the minute he met her. Rudy was always betting Liesel to do things and his end of the bet was always a kiss from Liesel. Rudy and Liesel became the best of friends and had a bond that only true friends have. Rudy and Max were two of Liesel’s greatest treasures, and little did Liesel know that “She was saying goodbye and she didn’t even know it” (Zusak 76). Through Liesel’s life she lost a lot of important people. One thing that Liesel did not lose though was her empathy, patience and courage she had. I feel as if this book was presented in a way to help you remember that no matter how hard life can get sometimes, there is always a reason to be happy. Liesel’s point of view on life and this whole experience was encouraging in a way. Even though she was a fictional character, she still spoke loud when it came to getting her message across. She was living her life because she knew she had a purpose in the world.
Life Is Beautiful is a movie about a man named Guido, his wife Dora and son Joshua. Guido won over his wife with his charming sense of humor and smile that he continuously portrays throughout the movie. When Guido and Joshua get sent away one afternoon, Dora refuses to stay. As Guido and Joshua are boarding the train, Dora runs up screaming, “My husband and son are on that train. I want to get on that train” (Benigni). Dora knowing that she did not have to get on the train, willingly did. Young Joshua not knowing what was going on, was told that his whole thing was part of a huge game. Guido had told Joshua that they were going to this extraordinary place, and it was based on points each day. In this movie the Holocaust is more so told in a way of how some families got through this. Joshua each day waited for Guido’s arrival to tell him how many points they got for the day. Guido always found a way to make Joshua laugh. “10,000 points to laugh like crazy about” (Bengini), I personally like this quote, because it goes to show that Guido thought that there was always a reason to be smiling and laughing. When Joshua would start to wonder why they still were not leaving, and begin to cry, Guido would play a game. “If you speak my name, I vanish. What am I? Silence” (Bengini). Silence was the one thing that saved Joshua. The day that the war ended, Joshua was picked up in a huge tank, the prize. Guido was shot the night before trying to save his wife. I loved the way that Guido looked at life. He valued each and every second he had. The Holocaust in this book was told about in a different way than what I have ever seen. It did not focus on all of the bad and the hurt, it focused on what some parents really probably had to do with their younger children.
The Holocaust had a major effect on many lives, obviously. People chose to see it in a different way though. Many people tell it as the sad horrific journey that they were on, and others tell the beauty of living. There were many points of views and presentations of the Holocaust, but personally my favorite was Life Is Beautiful. I loved the way that it reminded you of the happy times as well. Every person has their own story, it just depends on how you decide to tell it.