Gerda Weissmann Klein (1924-2022)

Very seldom does one have an opportunity to witness one’s own impact on the world. Gerda Weissmann Klein is an exception. In her elegant, soft-spoken voice and poignant manner with the written word, she has inspired hundreds of thousands worldwide with her heroic tale of surviving one of the darkest chapters in history.    

Born on May 8, 1924 to Helene and Julius Weissmann in Bielsko, Poland, Gerda's arrival made four-year old Artur a big brother. The Weissmanns enjoyed a normal life until the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939. Just 15 years old at the time, Gerda was forced to grow up quickly as evil personified took away all that was dear to her, indeed, all but her life. Forced to live in the basement of her childhood home for nearly three years, she and her parents were ultimately moved to a ghetto with other Jews from the town. From there, her parents were deported to Auschwitz. She never saw them, nor her beloved brother again. Gerda spent the next three years in a succession of slave-labor and concentration camps, until forced to walk a 350-mile death march in which 2,000 women were subjected to exposure, starvation, and arbitrary execution. Fewer than 120 survived. Despite such atrocities, Gerda never lost the will to live.    

The most blessed moment occurred when her life intersected with the unwaveringly kind, fiercely strong and exquisitely handsome Army Lt. Kurt Klein. This American soldier liberated her in an abandoned bicycle factory in Volary, Czechoslovakia on May 7, 1945, the eve of her 21st birthday. She weighed a mere 68 pounds and her hair was gray. Kurt, himself a German-Jewish refugee, fell in love with her inner beauty, helped emotionally nurse her back to health, and reignited the outer beauty that existed before. He opened the door to a new world beyond despair and destruction.   

Married in Paris on June 18, 1946, Gerda and Kurt created a new life in America in what they called “the most beautiful city in the world--Buffalo, NY.” It is where darkness and sadness turned into joy and happiness with the birth of their children: Vivian, Leslie and James. Despite their immeasurable losses, the Kleins focused on giving their children a normal life. They tell of lots of laughter in the house, the joyful birthday parties, unconditional love at every turn and a sense that life was to be lived to the fullest.   

Gerda wrote of her war year experiences in the now classic autobiography, "All But My Life." This memoir has been continuously in print for 65 years and is widely used in high school and college curricula and is the basis for the Oscar and Emmy-winning HBO documentary "One Survivor Remembers." In 2012, "One Survivor Remembers" was selected by the Library of Congress entered into the National Film Registry. In total she authored ten books, of special note is "A Boring Evening at Home," a compendium of inspirational vignettes, soon to be republished. Gerda partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center to develop a unique educational curriculum about the Holocaust that has been used in over 100,000 schools, reaching nearly 10 million students.    

Throughout the years, she received countless awards and accolades for being a constant source of inspiration. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Gerda to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Council. Many years later, Gerda received the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Last year she was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame. For over six decades, she crisscrossed the globe inspiring multi-generational audiences by imparting her words of wisdom. Her hope was for a better world. The family she and Kurt created blossomed into eight grandchildren six grandchildren-in-law, and 18 great-grandchildren. Although often in the presence of many of the world’s international leaders and famous celebrities, spending time with her family always gave her the greatest joy and purpose!   

It is our fervent hope that following her passing on April 3, 2022 she is again with her beloved Kurt, who predeceased her in 2002, after 56 years of marriage. Gerda is survived by her children: Vivian (James) Ullman, Leslie (Roger) Simon, James (Lynn) Klein; her grandchildren Alysa (Adam) Cooper, Julie (Ben) Loftsgaarden, Andrew (Katie) Ullman, Lindsay Ullman, Melissa (David) Barth, Jessica (Adam) Glick, Jennifer (Sam) Lehman, Alexa Klein; and her Chai 18 great grandchildren Elias, Jonas, Tyler, Blake, Madison, Micah, Kayla, twins Cole and Levi, Julian, Jake, Brandon, Savannah, Ava, Elsa, twins Stella and Joshua, and Leo.    Next to her family, Gerda believed her most prized possession was her American passport. To that end, in 2008 along with her oldest granddaughter, Alysa Cooper, she co-founded the nonprofit organization Citizenship Counts whose mission is to inspire pride in America through the lens of celebrating American citizenship.    

A private burial was held and her family will honor her life and legacy with a virtual celebration on Sunday, May 1st at 3:00pm EST. Details for this special event will be shared soon on the Citizenship Counts website. 

Those wishing to make donations in Gerda’s memory are invited to do so to any of the following: Citizenship Counts educating students on the tenets of citizenship www.citizenshipcounts.org  KAVOD ensuring dignity for Holocaust survivors in need www.kavodensuringdignity.com or HIAS protecting and supporting Ukrainian refugees www.hias.org