Synopses & Reviews
Over fifty years ago, Gerda Weissmann clung to life and the end of a 350-mile death march that took her from a slave labor camp in Germany to the Czech border. On May 7, 1945, the American military stormed the area, and among the first soldiers to approach Gerda was Kurt Klein. A great love had begun. By September they were engaged. Forced to separated just weeks after liberation and hours after their engagement, Gerda and Kurt began a correspondence that lasted until their reunion and wedding in Paris a year later. Their poignant letters reflect upon the horrors of war and genocide, but above all, upon the rapture and salvation of true love.
Review
"This amazing testament to the steadfast love is a sunlit spot against the horrific gray years of the Holocaust...A common love of literature and decency binds Gerda and Kurt, who reveal their wonderful love story in this spellbinding series of missives." --
Library Journal (starred review)
"Haunting...engrossing. The letters are suffused with romantic yearnings and touching plans for the future." --Publishers Weekly
"The Hours After is an account of survival, healing, and the triumph of the human spirit against overwhelming odds." --Anniston (Alabama) star
"This collection of beautifully written letters is unusual in its honesty and beauty, written in the face of such great sorrow and such exquisite joy." --The Jewish Transcript
"[The Kleins'] story is now filled in for the rest of the world--not in the sepia tones that one might imagine of the moments immediately following concentration camp incarceration, but in glorious, robust color." --San Diego Jewish Press Heritage
"[An] intense and moving story." --Jewish Exponent
About the Author
Gerda Weissman Klein and
Kurt Klein lecture frequently and have written extensively about their experiences during the Holocaust. Gerda Weissman Klien is the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary
One Survivor Remembers. Kurt Klein's story was featured in the PBS series
American and the Holocaust. The Kleins have been married for more than fifty years and live in Scottsdale, Arizona.