Presidential Medal of Freedom
On February 15, 2011, President Barack Obama presented Weissmann Klein and 14 other recipients with the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.[17] At the ceremony in the East Room of the White House, President Obama announced, "This year's Medal of Freedom recipients reveal the best of who we are and who we aspire to be."[18] He stated the following as Klein was presented with her Presidential Medal of Freedom:
By the time she was 21, Gerda Klein had spent six years living under Nazi rule—three of them in concentration camps. Her parents and brother had been taken away. Her best friend had died in her arms during a 350-mile [560 km] death march. And she weighed only 68 pounds [31 kg] when she was found by American forces in an abandoned bicycle factory. But Gerda survived. She married the soldier who rescued her. And ever since—as an author, a historian, and a crusader for tolerance—she has taught the world that it is often in our most hopeless moments that we discover the extent of our strength and the depth of our love.[18]
President Obama then read a statement from Weissmann Klein: "I pray you never stand at any crossroads in your own lives, but if you do, if the darkness seems so total, if you think there is no way out, remember, never ever give up."[18]
Additional recognition
Weissmann Klein was selected to be the keynote speaker at the United Nations' first annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2006.[19] She has spoken to school children in all 50 U.S. states and countless countries worldwide to spread her message of tolerance and hope, meeting with many world leaders and dignitaries such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Menachem Begin and Golda Meir. Gerda and her husband Kurt were invited to speak to the students at Columbine soon after the tragedy in April 1999. They made multiple visits to the community to help the students and their families manage their fears in the aftermath of the horrific attack.
In 1996, Weissmann Klein received the international Lion of Judah award in Jerusalem.[10] She received 7 Honorary Doctorates throughout her lifetime.[20]
In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed Weissmann Klein to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Governing Council. In 2007, the museum bestowed Weissmann Klein with its highest honor at The Arizona Biltmore before 1,000 guests.[21] She was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame in 2021.[10]
