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Gerda Weissmann and Kurt Klein Papers 1940s-2012 (bulk 1940s-2001)

MSS-347

Biographical Note

Gerda Weissmann was born to Julius and Helene (Mueckenbrunn) Weissmann in Bielsko, Poland on May 28, 1924. She had one sibling, an older brother named Arthur (b. 1919). Prior to the German invasion of Poland, Gerda Weissmann attended Notre Dame Gymnasium in Bielsko. The German army entered Bielsko on September 3, 1939 and Arthur Weissmann was deported soon thereafter. The family received a few letters from him, but the correspondence soon stopped and Arthur was presumed murdered. The Weissmann family was then forced to move into their basement so the Aryan family who had been living there could live in the house. They were subsequently confined in the Bielsko ghetto, where both Julius and Helene Weissmann were killed prior to the ghetto's liquidation in 1942.

When the ghetto was liquidated, Gerda Weissmann was sent to a textile mill in Bolkenhain, Silesia. She was later confined in slave labor camps in Marzdorf, Landshut, and Gruenberg. When the camps were liquidated at the end of the war, Weissmann became part of a 350-mile death march. She and the march's other 120 survivors were liberated on May 7, 1945 in Volary, Czechoslovakia by a group of American soldiers including Kurt Klein (1920-2002). Klein, a German Jew from Waldorf, had been sent to the United States with his siblings (Max and Gerdi Klein) in 1937 when their parents (Ludwig and Alice Klein) felt that they were no longer safe in Germany. The Klein home was vandalized during Kristallnact and Kurt Klein's parents were deported to Eastern Europe. They were eventually killed in Auschwitz. Kurt Klein and Gerda Weissmann married in Paris on June 18, 1946.

Gerda and Kurt Klein settled in Kenmore, New York and had three children, Vivian E. (Klein) Ullman (b. 1948), Leslie A. (Klein) Simon (b. 1952), and James Arthur (b. 1957). Gerda Klein's first book, a memoir titled All But My Life, was published in 1957. She went on to write The Blue Rose (1974), Promise of a New Spring: The Holocaust and Renewal (1981), A Passion for Sharing (1984), and The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath (With Kurt Klein; 2000). Gerda Klein's life is also recorded in the documentary One Survivor Remembers. In addition to writing, Gerda and Kurt Klein have lectured extensively on the Holocaust and their relationship and formed the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation.

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists primarily of drafts, reader correspondence, and other materials documenting Gerda Klein's All But My Life (1957). Many of the letters from readers were written by junior high and high school students who read the memoir as part of their classes. Also included are personal correspondence, biographical information, items documenting Gerda and Kurt Klein's speaking engagements, and materials showing One Survivor Remembers (a documentary about Gerda Klein's life) and other of Klein's published works.

Series I: Personal and Biographical Materials has been divided into two sub-series. Sub-Series A: Correspondence houses personal letters addressed to Gerda Klein, birthday cards, and general correspondence discussing the Holocaust. Sub-Series B: Other Materials includes honorary doctorates conferred on Gerda Klein, other awards, general biographical information, and other materials documenting Gerda and Kurt Klein's lives and work.

Series II: All But My Life has been divided into three sub-series. Sub-Series A: Drafts houses typewritten manuscript drafts of the book, some including annotations. Sub-Series B: Reader Correspondence consists primarily of letters from students who read All But My Life in junior high and high school classes. These letters are organized chronologically. This sub-series also includes correspondence from adult readers. Sub-Series C: Other Materials houses a variety of documents related to All But My Life, including plays based on the book, correspondence with the book's publisher, book reports, projects completed in Dr. Harold Foster's "Teaching Adolescent Literature" class at the University of Akron, and materials showing an exhibit held at Arizona State University in 1997 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the book's publication.

Series III: Other Literary Works by Gerda Klein houses correspondence, brochures, programs, and other materials documenting other of Gerda Klein's published works. These monographs include The Blue Rose, The Hours After, and Promise of a New Spring.

Series IV: One Survivor Remembers has been divided into three sub-series. Sub-Series A: Personal Appearances houses materials documenting Gerda Klein's appearances at events centered around the documentary, including the New York and Israeli premieres. Sub-Series B: Viewer Correspondence and Published Reactions houses letters and articles describing viewers' reactions to the film. Many of these letters were written by primary school students who watched One Survivor Remembers during class. Sub-Series C: Awards houses clippings and other materials showing awards conferred on the documentary, including the Oscar and the Emmy.

Series V: Speaking Engagements houses correspondence, programs, clippings, and other materials documenting Gerda and Kurt Klein's speeches and presentations. The vast majority of these presentations discussed the Holocaust and Gerda and Kurt Klein's lives in its aftermath. Many of these presentations were made to students as part of Holocaust education programs. The Kleins also spoke extensively during programs organized by various Jewish groups, at Holocaust remembrance events, and at synagogues.

Series VI: Audio and Video Materials houses U-Matic, Betacam, and VHS tapes. Among these tapes are copies of One Survivor Remembers and Liberation including the interviews used in the final films. Also included are copies of the testimonies that Gerda and Kurt Klein recorded for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Gerda Weissmann and Kurt Klein Papers, MSS-347, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Gerda and Kurt Klein placed these materials on permanent loan at Arizona State University beginning in 1998. The collection was formally donated to the University in 2010 (Accession Numbers 2003-02780, 2003-02798, 2003-02822, 2003-02858, 2003-02864, 2003-02876, and 2003-02909).

Processing Note

Manuscripts of Klein's All But My Life (Series II, Sub-Series A) were found in near total disarray with the exception of two near-complete drafts. The intact drafts were maintained as they were discovered and one additional draft was reconstructed by comparing paper type, typeface, ink color, and page numbering style. The remainder of the manuscript pages have been sorted by paper type, typeface, and ink color and are marked "Partial Draft". Because Klein frequently used several types of paper in her drafts, it is likely that these pages form one or more additional drafts of All But My Life.

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