Gerda Weissmann Klein
Journey Description
Gerda Weissmann Klein was born on May 8, 1924 in Bielsko, Poland. Gerda grew up with her mother, father, and older brother, Arthur before the German army invaded Poland. Her family would suffer many levels of persecution by the Nazis before being sent to a ghetto. Gerda was not in the ghetto long before she was separated from her family and it would be the last time that she would ever see them again.
Gerda traveled to several different work camps that were apart of the concentration camp system, Gross-Rosen. At the work camps, Gerda was responsible for managing the looms that would produce clothing and parachutes for the German army. As the Allied powers were advancing Gerda was led on a death march until her liberation. Gerda was liberated by a US Army Lieutenant, Kurt Klein. Kurt would eventually become her husband and they would travel to the United States.
After her liberation, Gerda wrote her acclaimed memoir, All But my Life. She would travel to schools and other public events talking about the Holocaust and her experiences. Gerda and Kurt would eventually move to Scottsdale, Arizona to be closer to family. The two founded Citizenship Counts and in 2011 Gerda received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
Now travel back in time to experience the journey that Gerda went through during the Holocaust. Learn about the different work camps that she was at and the experience her family had when Germany invaded Poland.