Gerda Weissman Klein, a Holocaust survivor as a teenager before becoming an author, activist, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and star of the 1995 Academy Award- and Emmy-winning film, died yesterday, according to film director Kari Antolis. She was 97 years old.
Weissman Klein, born in 1924, was sent to Nazi labor camps after the Germans occupied his native Poland. After moving to three different camps, he nearly died from overwork. With the advance of the allied troops, Weissman Klein was one of 4,000 women sent to be freed from enforced death. The group traveled through Poland, Germany and the present Czech Republic. Before he survived the war, both his parents and his brother were killed in the Holocaust.
Weissman Klein was eventually freed by US forces. She married Kurt Klein, a soldier, and immigrated to the United States. They had three children.
Weissman Klein wrote an autobiography, everything but my life, which was made into a short documentary in 1995 by HBO producer and director Antolis. A 40-minute film, entitled One survivor remembersIt won an Emmy for Outstanding News Special and an Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Film).
Antholis took the stage with Weissman Klein to take him with him. The quiet survivor was barely allowed to speak as the conductor said “thank you” as if the orchestra had started playing them. But Weissman Klein took the microphone and silence fell in the room. His short speech is considered by many to be one of the most memorable at an Oscar.
Here it is in full:
For six incredible years I was in a place where profit meant a crust of bread and another day of life. From the blessed day of my deliverance, I asked the question: “Why am I here?”
I’m not better With my mind I see those years and days and those who never lived to see a boring afternoon of witchcraft at home.
On his behalf I want to thank you for honoring his memory and you can’t do better than to go home tonight to realize that each of you who know the joy of freedom is a winner.
You can watch his Oscar speech below.
One survivor remembers It was later included in the National Film Registry. In 2005, the film was made available to teachers as part of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s teaching tolerance program. According to Antholis, it has become one of the program’s most popular offerings and has been viewed by tens of millions of students.
In an article he wrote as part of the film’s National Film Registry, director Wiseman Klein tied the story to dire current events, a message that still resonates today.
“When we shot the film, genocidal wars were fought in Bosnia and Rwanda,” the article said. “Our hope was that this film would share the tragic consequences of fanaticism with future generations, so that the dehumanizing statistics and images of genocide are impossible.
In 2008, Weissman Klein’s eldest granddaughter Alice Cooper founded a national nonprofit organization that taught students the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It is called Citizenship and its main goal is “to inspire pride in America”. it is a non-profit work still continues today.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed Weissman Klein as the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He was also chosen as the keynote speaker at the first annual United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2006.
In 2011, Barack Obama named Weissman Klein for the nation’s highest civic award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama said at the opening ceremony that he “taught the world that often in our most desperate moments we discover the degree of our strength and the depth of our love”.
Weissman Klein said in a statement that day: “Please never stop at any crossroads in your life, but if you are, if the darkness seems so complete to you, if you believe there is no way out, remember. , never give up. “. above..”
Source: Deadline
