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Gerda's Story: Memoirs of a Holocaust Survivor
Gerda’s Story is a deeply moving, unforgettable memoir of a German Jewish family caught up in the horror of the Holocaust. Told through the eyes of a young girl, the book shares Gerda’s memories of Hitler’s rise to power and passionately describes the cruel toll that history can have on those who experience it.
The book is much more than Gerda’s story. Through letters she received from her parents, who made the heartbreaking decision to send their two daughters to live with foster families in the relative safety of Holland, we learn how a mother and father try to raise a child from far away in times of great distress. Letters from them to Gerda’s foster parents, and desperate notes to an American family they hoped would act as sponsors, reveal their growing despair.
The story is both deeply personal and universal as people wrestle with terrible choices to save their children and protect their families. These issues remain as relevant today as they were during the Holocaust.
In 1939, while trying to arrange an escape from Germany, her parents sent 12-year-old Gerda and her younger sister to live with separate families in Holland, which was still safe for Jews. What was intended as a temporary move became permanent and Gerda never saw her parents again. Ultimately, she was the only member of her immediate family to survive and also had to bear the loss of the foster family she had come to love as her own.
Gerda describes in searing detail her experiences in six concentration camps, her protection as a worker for the Philips Corporation, and her arrival in the U.S. in 1948 as an 18-year-old Holocaust survivor literally alone in the world.
The memoir is a testament to the loving family Gerda built in America. Her husband added translations of the letters from her parents, grandparents and sister. After her oldest child and first grandchild were born, Gerda added notes to them. This group effort illustrates the special generational pull of trauma endured by Holocaust survivors.
The book is much more than Gerda’s story. Through letters she received from her parents, who made the heartbreaking decision to send their two daughters to live with foster families in the relative safety of Holland, we learn how a mother and father try to raise a child from far away in times of great distress. Letters from them to Gerda’s foster parents, and desperate notes to an American family they hoped would act as sponsors, reveal their growing despair.
The story is both deeply personal and universal as people wrestle with terrible choices to save their children and protect their families. These issues remain as relevant today as they were during the Holocaust.
In 1939, while trying to arrange an escape from Germany, her parents sent 12-year-old Gerda and her younger sister to live with separate families in Holland, which was still safe for Jews. What was intended as a temporary move became permanent and Gerda never saw her parents again. Ultimately, she was the only member of her immediate family to survive and also had to bear the loss of the foster family she had come to love as her own.
Gerda describes in searing detail her experiences in six concentration camps, her protection as a worker for the Philips Corporation, and her arrival in the U.S. in 1948 as an 18-year-old Holocaust survivor literally alone in the world.
The memoir is a testament to the loving family Gerda built in America. Her husband added translations of the letters from her parents, grandparents and sister. After her oldest child and first grandchild were born, Gerda added notes to them. This group effort illustrates the special generational pull of trauma endured by Holocaust survivors.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
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144 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 5, 2019
My unbelievable life
This book was very well written. I find this time in history to be unbelievably sad. We must stop letting our leaders rule us in horrible ways when our hearts and minds tell us otherwise.
This book was very well written. I find this time in history to be unbelievably sad. We must stop letting our leaders rule us in horrible ways when our hearts and minds tell us otherwise.
November 7, 2019
Amazing Story
I have read many Holocaust memoirs over the last couple of years. Gerda's Story touched my heart and I found it most poignant being a grandmother and having a granddaughter myself. A +++ Highly recommended!!
I have read many Holocaust memoirs over the last couple of years. Gerda's Story touched my heart and I found it most poignant being a grandmother and having a granddaughter myself. A +++ Highly recommended!!
August 9, 2020
Gerda’s Story: Memoirs of a Holocaust Survivor is written by Gerda Nothmann Luner with input from Jo Ann Segal and Wallace Lagerwey. It was with Jo Ann and Wallace’s help that Charles Luner, her husband, had this published. It is quite easy to read in spite of the horrific times in the camps and being away from her parents. The book is well worth reading and because she does not go into detail about the camps or any other place. It acceptable for use in seventh or eighth grades.
Gerda was born in Berlin to Judge Max Nothmann and his wife Adele. Two years later, Vera was born. The girls were brought up to be helpful and kind and thankful for what they had. When the Nazis came into power, Judge Northmann lost his position and life changed but the family remained close. Judge Nothmann tried to get the family out of Germany; but was unable to get the paperwork and money straightened out. As things got worse in Berlin, they decided to send the girls to Holland for safety. The girls were sent to the same town; but two different families. They attended the same school so saw each other daily. Eventually, the family Gerda was with decided to leave Holland and Gerda was placed with the Been family. Here she was accepted into the family and the family became hers. They didn’t have much money but had plenty of love. Vera’s family moved to Paris when the Germans invaded Holland. When they decided to come back, Vera wasn’t’ allowed back into the country so she was placed in an orphanage. It took a while but she returned to the family in Berlin. Unfortunately, the parents, grandmother, and Vera were taken to Auschwitz where they all perished. Gerda only knew they had been taken to one of the camps.
In Holland, Gerda worked for Phillips Company and dated Ernst Cohen whose father was an official with the company. This company tried to help its workers both before they were taken to the camps and after they went to the camps. It was connection that helped her survive six camps including Auschwitz. Her story is quite extraordinary.
Her memoir is not difficult to read as it leaves out details that get in the way of the story. Because of the connection to the Phillips company and the fact that the ladies were all kept together as one group enabled them to help each other survive.
Gerda was born in Berlin to Judge Max Nothmann and his wife Adele. Two years later, Vera was born. The girls were brought up to be helpful and kind and thankful for what they had. When the Nazis came into power, Judge Northmann lost his position and life changed but the family remained close. Judge Nothmann tried to get the family out of Germany; but was unable to get the paperwork and money straightened out. As things got worse in Berlin, they decided to send the girls to Holland for safety. The girls were sent to the same town; but two different families. They attended the same school so saw each other daily. Eventually, the family Gerda was with decided to leave Holland and Gerda was placed with the Been family. Here she was accepted into the family and the family became hers. They didn’t have much money but had plenty of love. Vera’s family moved to Paris when the Germans invaded Holland. When they decided to come back, Vera wasn’t’ allowed back into the country so she was placed in an orphanage. It took a while but she returned to the family in Berlin. Unfortunately, the parents, grandmother, and Vera were taken to Auschwitz where they all perished. Gerda only knew they had been taken to one of the camps.
In Holland, Gerda worked for Phillips Company and dated Ernst Cohen whose father was an official with the company. This company tried to help its workers both before they were taken to the camps and after they went to the camps. It was connection that helped her survive six camps including Auschwitz. Her story is quite extraordinary.
Her memoir is not difficult to read as it leaves out details that get in the way of the story. Because of the connection to the Phillips company and the fact that the ladies were all kept together as one group enabled them to help each other survive.
December 6, 2020
Strength of a Young Girl
This heartbreaking yet triumphant story of Gerda needs to remind all of us that the courage of the Jewish men, women and children must never be forgotten. In the cruelest of circumstances at the hands of the Nazi monsters and a world that seemingly looked the other way for too long, Greda's story must be a constant reminder that evil exists. And yet those Holocaust survivors triumphed and lived lives that honored their lost loved ones. The letters and that precious little silver cup , long in Gerda's family , is a symbol of how her roots, her traditions, the love of her family , all who died at the hands of tyranny, endured and carried this remarkable young girl through the unimaginable suffering.
This heartbreaking yet triumphant story of Gerda needs to remind all of us that the courage of the Jewish men, women and children must never be forgotten. In the cruelest of circumstances at the hands of the Nazi monsters and a world that seemingly looked the other way for too long, Greda's story must be a constant reminder that evil exists. And yet those Holocaust survivors triumphed and lived lives that honored their lost loved ones. The letters and that precious little silver cup , long in Gerda's family , is a symbol of how her roots, her traditions, the love of her family , all who died at the hands of tyranny, endured and carried this remarkable young girl through the unimaginable suffering.
March 14, 2023
Really impactful story, great book!
February 24, 2020
Amazing strength
Gerda had an admirable and amazing will and strength to survive even during times when everything seemed hopeless. If I would go into more detail, I would give away to much. A beautiful young girl, who lived through numerous concentration camps. Her memoir touched my heart and soul. A must-read book.
Gerda had an admirable and amazing will and strength to survive even during times when everything seemed hopeless. If I would go into more detail, I would give away to much. A beautiful young girl, who lived through numerous concentration camps. Her memoir touched my heart and soul. A must-read book.
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January 23, 2020Very interesting story to inform yourself about the treatment of the children during the Holocaust. My heart aches from the story of family separation. A must read for people that want to understand the emotions of family during a horrid separation.
October 17, 2020
Wonderful Book
I love how this book shares the letters of a family during that horrible time. You can feel the love and fear and disappointment written between friends and family. It will make you smile and cry throughout.
I love how this book shares the letters of a family during that horrible time. You can feel the love and fear and disappointment written between friends and family. It will make you smile and cry throughout.
March 4, 2021
Exceptional
This book was very capturing and amazing it makes you really thing and appreciate everything you have and how privileged you are
This book was very capturing and amazing it makes you really thing and appreciate everything you have and how privileged you are
April 18, 2025
This was a good book, but the second half was correspondences. But the memoir section of the book was excellent
April 24, 2018
I loved this book and all the letters included were so touching. How lucky Gerda was to have been able to retrieve them.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews