Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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"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."

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!

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.

We typically don't write or receive personal letters anymore. That is just one of many reasons why this book, with the different life experiences Kurt and Gerda W. Klein had during the war, is so compelling. Imagine this 25 yr. old U.S. serviceman helping this young woman, who had grown from adolescence to adulthood on a Nazi death march, come to grips with who she is and what's to become of her. The book provides a first hand account and perspective through their letters to eachother, as the hopeful re-building of countries and lives is surrounding them. This is a must read, especially poignant in the tenuous world situation we all find ourselves in, post Sept. 11th. The fact that these two young people married and built a life together is a wonderful love story.

I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE. THE STORY OF GERDA SHOWS HOW THINGS CAN CHANGE SO FAST IN A SPLIT SECOND. THIS STORY IS A REMINDER HOW IN LIFE WE SHOULD NOT WASTE A MOMENT TO ENJOY IT WITH OUR FAMILIES. IT AMAZES ME HOW GERDA HAD SO MUCH COURAGE TO CONTINUE IN SITUATIONS THAT WERE SIMPY AWFUL.

Ever since discovering Anne Frank back in Junior High School, I've always been interested in books about the Holocaust. I recently finished The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy. It's a very well written and important story about the Holocaust. And when I finished it I wanted to know what happened after the end of the book. What happened after the Jews were liberated? Everything from their previous lives was gone, their homes destroyed their families dead, murdered. What would they do? I hadn't read anything about after liberation.

The Hours After tells the wonderful and uplifting story of what happened to Gerda Weissmann after liberation. The story is revealed to us through letters between Gerda and her fiancé, Kurt Klein, one of the American soldiers who liberated her from a slave-labor camp in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.

At first I didn't care for the format of the book. I felt it had a sometimes awkward rhythm, going back and forth from Gerda's voice to Kurt's but at some point that feeling disappeared and all I could focus on was what would happened next.

I thought their letters to each other were beautiful, especially Kurt's. What a wonderful gift they have in these letters. I also thought that the way the letters were written was interesting, maybe it was the way they translated from German to English but they seemed very old fashioned even for 1945.

I thought it interesting that Gerda said her gushing (about her love and affection for Kurt) and sharing her deepest feelings was impolite. Later she asked to be forgiven for the burden she imposes on him by discussing the loss of her parents and the disappointment she's caused her uncle by not asking his permission to marry. I wonder the origins of such formality? And sometimes I wish there was just an iota of it left in our culture today.

I was moved by the story of Gerda's Grandfather who was exiled to Siberia and how she drew strength from his experience. Gerda is an amazing person, very smart, she never seems to get frustrated by the bureaucrats who make her emigration to the United States so difficult. And when she had the opportunity to exact some justice or revenge (in the case of her landlady and her son) she could only feel empathy for them. What an amazing and compassionate soul!

The process of preparing all of their papers for their marriage and Gerda's emigration to the US was excruciatingly prolonged! Gerda and Kurt communicated primarily by sloooow snail mail that was delivered via go-betweens until April 1946 (with the exception of a few telegrams). How different from our lightning fast communications and overnight deliveries of today.

A wonderful and uplifting story!

Became interested in her books after seeing the documentary
on HBO. I bought this as a gift for someone else, but can't wait to read
all her literature myself.
Sharon - Fort Lauderdale, FL

After I read Gerda's "All But My Life", I absolutely had to read this book. I had to know more! "All But My Life" and "The Hours After" are two of the best books I have ever read.

This book is a very good read. It shows the compassion of love and trust. I am one that enjoys reading letter so this was perfect book for me. This book is comprised of letters written back and forth between the two authors. It is completely nonfiction. It shows the two peoples raw and bare emotions. It does take a while to read. It is not an extremely long book but it takes a good while to read. It is an easy read. The word choices arent difficult and the sentences aren't very complex. This sweet books talks about the way a couple met and lived through post war in Europe. The man was her liberator. She was a victim of the Nazi's cruel treatment. They became good friends while she was being treated in a medical hospital. As their relationship grew it became more loving and caring than anyone could have ever thought possible. They fell in love just as he was going to be sent back home. As this tragic point in the story happens it is counter acted by a wedding proposal and a vow for a marriage and a wonderful life together. As he left Europe, it started the wonderful wait until they could be married in Paris in 1946.

I think this was a okay book. It was very boring and kind of dragged. But I do like there love story, it was very touching.