Journal Entry #2 Henry Motew

The book All but My Life just inspires me and shows how lucky we are as Americans living in the time we do now. Being Jewish makes me feel a more extreme amount of sorrow for the brutality Gerda's family, Gerda, Ilse, and the 11 million other people faced because I am of their religion and have mass amounts of respect for their strength and pride for being Jewish. Gerda's story is truly unbelievable. If you realize all that she survived, you can take a moment and just think how wild it is that she survived what she did. Moving between multiple work camps, surviving a death march in which only about 120 survived, and being trapped in a warehouse with bombs outside, Gerda always stayed strong and stayed proud. For that, I have the highest degree of respect. When I think about her survival, I think to myself if I would stay strong and proud like Gerda, and the sad part is that I am not sure I can be as strong as her. The book made me review my morals and more importantly my religion, but none the less, it was a book that made me feel lucky to have the life I have today.