Review: All But My Life By Gerda Weissmann Klein

The world is full of wicked things which strike fear in the hearts of men. As people go through life, they begin to fear more human monsters, but fail to acknowledge the monsters in themselves. The Holocaust was not committed by a typical villain but by regular people. Adolf Hitler planted the seeds, but his supporters nourished and harvested them. Each person had their own motive for turning a blind eye to this act of genocide, but overall it followed a theme. The three things that can cause a person to abandon others and their morals are greed, fear and pride. In general mankind has many flaws and greed is one that will consume a soul. Greed is a powerful thing that can bring out a person's true colors. In the book, All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein, she recalls the time she had to sell her belongings right before her family had to leave for the

They couldn’t see how they failed so having a group to blame helped many cope with the new, daily struggles. This fear didn’t fade for all, due to the Nazi party’s wicked ways. A common practice during this time was every man for himself. Many friendships were destroyed in order to stay safe. German soldiers would threaten anyone who showed kindness to any Jewish citizen. In the series Some Were Neighbors, Jana Malish told the story about her best friend who was scared to be around her, and in the end gave her away (Some Were Neighbors). It wasn’t just the government spreading hatred, but teachers in school. These schools taught children to hate and fear anyone who was Jewish. Not everyone feared these threats and continued to stay close to their friends. For example, Gerda’s former nanny, Niania Brenza, would constantly visit the Weissmanns, no matter what others said. Brave people like her helped those in fear maintain hope. Fear was everywhere and it affected everyone no matter their race, religion or