In 2004, Gerda Weissmann Klein was asked to speak at a naturalization ceremony that was hosted by the students and faculty at Three Rivers Middle School in Cleves, Ohio. She was moved by the great pride the students exuded as they witnessed immigrants taking the Oath of Allegiance to become citizens of the United States of America. Back home in Arizona, Klein shared her experience with her granddaughter Alysa Ullman and her friend Rita Schaefer, then president of McDougal-Littell. Schaefer encouraged Ullman to create a curriculum to educate students on citizenship and the importance of displaying patriotism.  Ullman authored The Path to Citizenship which was published in February 2008. In the spring of 2008, Gerda Weissmann Klein shared her dream which was to enable all middle school students throughout the country to have the unique opportunity and privilege to host a naturalization ceremony at their school.  Thus, Citizenship Counts was born.

For decades author, historian, and speaker Gerda Weissmann Klein has inspired people of all ages with her powerful message of hope, inspiration, love and humanity. In her speeches and books, she draws from her wealth of life experiences: from surviving the Holocaust, meeting her future husband on the day of her liberation, to her journey to the United States, accepting an Oscar and Emmy for “One Survivor Remembers,” an HBO documentary based on her life, and her constant fight to promote tolerance and combat hunger.

Klein’s constant striving for the preservation of human rights and dignity has earned her seven Doctorates of Humane Letters, along with countless other awards. In 1998 along with her late husband, she founded The Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation to promote tolerance, lessen prejudice, and encourage community service focused on local hunger relief. By founding Citizenship Counts, Gerda has carried on her lifelong goal of giving back to her adopted country by helping students better understand and appreciate their citizenship while encouraging tolerance and appreciation for our diversity.