Gerda Weissmann Klein was an author and Holocaust survivor who was profiled in the Oscar-winning 1995 documentary “One Survivor Remembers.”
- Died: April 3, 2022 (Who else died on April 3?)
- Details of death: Died at her home in Phoenix at the age of 97.
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Holocaust survivor
Klein was a native of Bielsko, Poland, which was invaded by Nazi troops when she was a teen. Her family was separated, sent to concentration camps, where her parents and brother were killed. Klein herself barely survived three concentration camps and a forced death march, and when U.S. troops liberated her group of prisoners, she weighed just 68 pounds and was severely malnourished. Klein and one of her liberators fell in love, and after they married, she immigrated to the U.S.
Later years
Klein published her memoir, “All but My Life,” in 1957. It became a classic of Holocaust literature and was adapted into the HBO documentary “One Survivor Remembers,” which won a Primetime Emmy Award and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. After publishing her memoir, Klein continued writing. She published several children’s books, beginning with “The Blue Rose.” Always appreciative of her chance to start over in the U.S., Klein founded Citizenship Counts, a non-profit that educates students on the tenets of citizenship. In 2011, President Barack Obama honored Klein with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Notable quote
“I get about a hundred letters a month from students. When things like the shootings at Columbine happen, they write to ask me, ‘Will I ever smile again?’ There is a lot of fear in young people today. I tell them they will never forget, but the memory will give them strength and a new appreciation of beauty, time and love.” —from a 2005 interview for Teaching Tolerance
Tributes to Gerda Weissmann Klein
Full obituary: Buffalo News
