By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Goodrich ? To the Nazi regime, she was worth just one dollar.
Prejudice drove Adolf Hitler to desolate and annihilate Jews like Gerda Weissman Klein. Somehow, she survived. Since then Klein has opened up her life to teens, teaching tolerance, strength and individual responsibility to combat hunger.
‘You are the messengers to a time I shall not see,? she says to a hushed auditorium of Goodrich High School students.
‘The reason I’m telling the story is to acquaint you with some of the young people of today who are going through some of the things, unfortunately, I was part of,? said Klein, who with her late husband Kurt traveled to Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. four years ago to speak out about bigotry, tolerance, and surviving pain.
Klein, 79, was awarded an Oscar and an Emmy for the Home Box Office documentary, ‘One Survivor Remembers? based on her book ‘All But My Life.?
Originally from Bielsko, Poland, Klein enjoyed the middle-class lifestyle of a young girl who adored her big brother, loved to ski, relished playing in the family’s garden, and longed for the freedom of summer vacation.
In 1939 her world became a waking nightmare during the German occupation of Poland. A shortage of food, heart-stopping knocks on the door, a pistol placed to her chest, and watching her brother being taken away replaced the 15-year-old’s carefree way of life. Eventually she and her parents were forced to move from their family home to meager all-Jewish quarters. The family was broken apart and shipped off; her parents would separately die in the gas chambers. Klein was confined to the grueling conditions of slave labor concentration camps.
‘Everything I loved was irrevocably gone,? said Klein.
In the end, she and approximately 2,000 young women were forced to march 350 miles toward a death camp through bitterly chilling conditions. Most of the girls never again experienced freedom’including her closest friend, Ilse Kleinzahler, who died in Klein’s arms. When the severely dwindled group was rescued by American troops on Klein’s 21st birthday, only 127 survivors remained.
Holocaust museum images’parents and children lying trampled and shot in fields, gas chambers crowded with discarded human beings, a picture of a small sweet face etched with fear as a child raises his hands before a Nazi gun-pointing officer’such gut-wrenching horrors are the undeniable backdrop of Klein’s story, though not the focus. Instead, she emerges with another perspective.
‘In camp…we were all together, all hungry, cold, hot, lonely, guarded by electrified barbed wire, and yet there was no suicide.? Klein said. ‘What a magnificent tribute to the spirit of young people preferring life to death.?
Urging students to cherish their own survival, Klein asked, ‘What do you do with your memories? What do you do with your loss??
‘Write down the things that trouble you, put the date on it and put it in an envelope for six months,? Klein said. ‘You will be amazed at the things you’ve written. Some you will have forgotten. There is a marvelous life waiting for you.?
Ironically, one of the American officers who rescued Klein was a German Jew who was drafted after escaping to the United States. Weighing 68 pounds with snow-white hair, Klein surveyed her surroundings, quoting the German poet Joanne Goethe, ‘Noble be man, merciful and good.? Later she and her young officer married and settled down in Buffalo, N.Y. before moving to Arizona.
‘I confess I was completely and totally in love with him. I know I wish to God he was here because people asked him, ‘Was it love at first sight?? He said, ‘No, it was fright at first sight.?
After three standing ovations, swarms of students stand in line to embrace Klein. ‘Thank you,? they say, eyes glistening with tears.
Spirited yet tender, Klein encourages their achievements and contributions.
‘A lot of people don’t want to make choices because they’re very comfortable,? she said, commending 18-year-old Jim Loftis and 17-year-old Laurel Griffiths for the active caring they’ve exhibited.
Tina Sula of Albania, who hopes to become an American citizen, was touched by Klein’s pro-American sentiments.
‘We should be thankful,? said Tina, her face lit with a smile.
Klein demonstrates her thankfulness with compassion and understanding, gifts she says everyone can give. When she received her Oscar, she was recalling her life years before, standing in line, hopeful that the soup ladle would find a piece of potato for her meal.
‘I didn’t want to see a world in which an Oscar is more important than a potato,? said Klein, who works through her foundation to feed the hungry (see www.kleinfoundation.org).
Klein quotes Kurt, ‘Pain should not be wasted’use it for good.? The maxim is not idle philosophy for the survivor, who was choked with emotion as she lifted her eyes to the screen over Goodrich auditorium to view the words she spoke during her first meeting with her rescuer, her husband, the gentleman who has been her constant companion in doing good for the last half century, the man for whom she has grieved since his death last year.
‘Noble be man, merciful and good.? The words are enscribed on Kurt Klein’s tombstone.
‘He truly was noble, and merciful, and good,? said Klein.