Gerda klein's novel all but my life

I think the real thesis of Gerda Klein’s memoirs ‘ All but my life’, is to inspire people to realize that they can beat the odds, come through and succeed through all adversities if they have people who love or have loved them and they love in return. This love provides inner strength and determination to suffer and endure a life of extreme torment and hardship.

Klein provides much evidence of this thesis when she retells stories of her family members, particularly her father, to whom she looked up and respected. It was he who made her promise to be strong, fight and never give up or kill herself and it was his words that helped her curb her desires to end her life in the camp. Klein also shows how the love of friends, not only family, can help us through bad times, particularly with her best friend Ilse.

Klein provides a very poignant accounting of her life through the Holocaust and one that is intense and convincing. She does not paint pretty pictures but instead presents vivid and illustrative explanations of the numerous occurrences that show the good side of humanity in such terrible times. I think there are many lessons to be learned from Klein’s memoirs, all of which can strengthen our inner selves and provide awareness of others in a world that is fraught with injustice, war, and hypocrisy.