Sisters Inge and Gisella (Jill) Berg were nine and five years old, respectively, when their family got a “wake-up call” that they needed to flee Nazi Germany. In a nationally coordinated attack against Jews across Greater Germany, Nazis ransacked their home, burned their synagogue, and frightened the Bergs into hiding.
A family acquaintance secured visas for their family to Kenya, where their father ran a farm and raised cattle. But they had to say goodbye to extended family members in Germany, not realizing it would be the last time they would see them. Most of those who remained in Germany did not survive the Holocaust.
ABOUT THE ARTIFACTS
Artifacts shown in the video were donated to the Museum by Jill Berg Pauly and Inge Katzenstein. Learn more about the trunk.