05/09/2026
in 1924 Gerda Weissmann Klein was born. Gerda was 15-years-old when the N***s invaded her hometown of Bielsko, Poland in 1939. She would be the only member of her fmaily to survive the Holocaust. She survived the ghetto, the camps, and the death marches while witnessing childhood friends die around her.
In May of 1945, Gerda was finally liberated by American forces. One of the liberators, Kurt Klein, a young German-Jewish man who had escaped to the United States, fleeing the N***s, had joined the U.S. military to fight back. The two fell in love and would marry.
Gerda wrote her story in her memoir 'All But My Life' in which she not only details the horrors of what she and others endured, but gives friends, family, and even strangers an identity greater than being one of millions of people murdered. She dedicated her life to telling the stories that so many had tried to silence. For her bravery and advocy work, she has received several awards, including the Presidentail Medal of Freedom in 2011. Hear her story in ep 177.
1. Quote from Gerda and her photo from around the time the N***s invaded.
2. Photo of Kurt Klein and Gerda Weissman Klein. They stayed married until Kurt's death in 2002.
3. Gerda receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barak Obama
4. Cover of Gerda's memoir. I've read it and I HIGHLY recommend it.
