The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath [Hardcover]

Kurt Klein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2000

The love letters of Gerda and Kurt Klein, revealing one of the greatest love stories ever told.

Over fifty years ago, Gerda Weissmann was barely alive at 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 the first soldier to approach Gerda was Kurt Klein. She guided him to her fellow prisoners who lay sick and dying on the ground, and quoted Goethe: "Noble be man, merciful and good." Perhaps it was her irony, her composure, her evident compassion in the face of tragedy, that struck Kurt Klein. A great love had begun. Forced to separate 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I pray that we will have children who will inherit the best that is in us: the legacy of our lost parents." This haunting plea was written by Gerda Weissmann Klein (All but My Life: A Memoir) in her engrossing correspondence with her then fianc?, Kurt, over the course of the year before they were able to marry in June 1946. Kurt, a German Jew, fled Nazi Germany and came to the U.S. in 1937. He became an officer in the American army and, in this capacity, met Gerda in a Czech hospital right after the war ended. Gerda, a Polish Jew, was in very frail health, having endured a 350-mile death march by the Nazis and slave labor. The two, who had both lost their parents and many other family members and friends during the Holocaust, began spending time together during her recuperation and fell deeply in love. The letters they exchanged after Kurt returned to the U.S. and Gerda tried to find a way through the postwar bureaucracy to join him are suffused with romantic yearnings and touching plans for their future. Meanwhile, Gerda witnessed the serious problems that beset displaced persons after the war, which she articulated to Kurt in moving detail. For a period of several months, she worked in Munich at the Bavarian Aid Society, where she describes her clients as "a virtual chronicle of agony." In addition, many of the women with whom she had been liberated became critically ill or mired in resignation, pain and loss. After appealing to U.S., Polish, Swiss and French governmental agencies, she was eventually able to wed Kurt and immigrate to the U.S. Married for more than 50 years, they now live in Arizona. Author tour. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This amazing testament to steadfast love is a sunlit spot against the horrific gray years of the Holocaust. In the waning days of World War II, German-born Klein came as an American liberator of 120 women who were locked up in a vacant factory building, emaciated and dying. These skeletal Jewish slave laborers, originally numbering 2000, were survivors of Nazi atrocities who had been forced to march 350 miles throughout the bitter winter months of 1945. One of these survivors, Gerda Weissmann, so impressed young Klein with her indomitable spirit and faith in the goodness of man that he was drawn to her. Their prolific correspondence throughout the next year until their marriage in 1946 is the basis for this book. These wonderful letters reflect two very compassionate, schooled, and cultured students of life who turn their daily activities into prose for one another. A common love of literature and decency binds Gerda and Kurt, who reveal their wonderful love story in this spellbinding series of missives. Gerda and Kurt Klein live in Arizona, having been married over 50 years, lecturing and writing about the Holocaust. The fluency of their letters lends this work to many audiences. Recommended for public, academic, and special libraries.
-Kay Dushek, Anamosa, IA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (February 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312242581
• ISBN-13: 978-0312242589
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #563,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Holocaust

More About the Author

Gerda Weissmann Klein was born in Bielsko, Poland, in 1924, and now lives in Arizona with her husband, Kurt Klein, who as a U.S. Army lieutenant liberated Weissmann on May 7, 1945. The author of five books, she has received many awards and honorary degrees and has lectured throughout the country for the past forty-five years. One Survivor Remembers (a production of Home Box Office and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), winner of an Emmy Award and the Academy Award for documentary short subject, was based on All But My Life. She will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in early 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Towering Testament to Love, March 15, 2000

By 

Theodore R. Weiss (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath (Hardcover)

"The Hours After" is a towering testament to a love born of the horrors of the Holocaust. The eloquent letters shared by the Kleins during a harrowing, year-long separation before they could be married, speak glowingly of a love that neither time nor distance could diminish. In addition, we gain penetrating insights into the post-World War II societal adjustments made by Europeans and Americans alike. This book is a fitting, memorable sequel to Mrs. Klein's best-seller, "All But My Life."

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A romantic, touching book, March 9, 2000

By 

Betsy Lanis (St. Louis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath (Hardcover)

I am actually not finished with this book, but because I can't put it down, I want to post my review. I read "All But My Life" and was so touched by Gerda's experiences during the Holocaust. I especially loved the ending, when an American soldier liberated Gerda and her friends. The soldier helped nurse Gerda back to health, and the two evenutally were married. "The Hours After", which picks up where "All But My Life" ends, allows the reader to better understand the friendship, love, and devotion between Gerda and Kurt. I have read many Holocaust books, and "All But MY Life" and "The Hours After" are the best. You have to read this book!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This deserves more stars!, June 14, 2001

By 

Susan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath (Hardcover)

Just when you think that the world today is a cold/harsh place and people are uncaring, a story comes along to challenge your thinking. "The Hours After" is one such book. Gerda faced the ultimate horrors of the Holocaust and near death, losing family in the process.

When you are at the depths of misery with her, an angel by the name of Kurt comes along to rescue her and nurse her back to health. Ah, but all doesn't end so nice and neat in times of war. Instead of giving up on each other, they correspond back and forth until at long last they are finally reunited and then married. I went through a lot of tissues on this one.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to meet these two incredible people who by chance were signing copies of this book at a social studies conference. While observing them, you could just feel the love and warmth they exuded.