All But My Life: Sam Allen

As I read the second half of All But My Life, I could not help but be inspired by Gerda's perseverance. Life for Gerda was anything but easy, but she kept fighting in the hope that her family would be waiting for her when she gets out of this nightmare. After being beaten by a SS guard, Gerda tells the reader, "Neither propaganda talks, designed to break our morale, nor hunger, nor work, no mater how hard, had affeced my resistance as had the brutal blows of that guard" (Gerda 174). This event marks a turning point in Gerda's story. Although her friends kept her spirits up, Gerda did lose a sense of security when that SS guard hit her. Gerda began to wonder if surviving the war was worth all of the hardships that she was forced to endure. Although Gerda comtemplated giving up, she soon decided that it would be best to obey her father's wishes. During the death march, Gerda devised a plan to escape from the Nazis and she probably would have gone through with her plan if she had not seen the execution of other Jews who had tried to escape. I think that even considering defying the Nazis took great bravery on Gerda's part. After Gerda's liberation, she was found to be extemely ill, and she almost had to have her feet amputated. Through hard work and determination, Gerda made a full recovery and met her soon to be husband.