A Kid’s Name

The Swedish woman remembered, “And there was this toy monkey and a picture of a small kid, a Jewish kid named Gert Berliner. And I thought, that’s a coincidence. My mom’s name is Berliner.”

Coincidence?

Erika told her mom about it. For Erika, it was an amazing coincidence. She did not give it much thought. But little did she know the importance of the little information she had passed on to her mother. 

Trying Luck

Agneta who had a part of her family in Berlin decided to try her luck. She searched for Gert’s contact details and found out his email address. “And there was an email address, and I was a bit maybe hesitating a bit because I thought maybe this is just a stranger. But by then, I was so curious.” Thereafter, she tried to contact him.    

A Prank?

Gert received a call, “Suddenly, because of the monkey, I have a phone call, somebody in Sweden, of all places, saying, well, I think you’re my cousin.” The man could not understand how to react. Was someone pulling a prank on him? Was someone rubbing salt against his wounds? He needed time to believe the person.

A Phone Call

Gert had gotten a phone call from his family after 8 decades. He needed to know who was on the other side of the phone so he asked them to meet him. In the last 80 years for the second time, he felt his heart racing at its fastest speed. The first time was when he moved out of his native place.

Three Berliners

Uri said, “Agneta Berliner and her sister, Suzanne, arranged to meet my dad when he was in Berlin at an exhibit of his photography. And so it all came together – how we weren’t only three Berliners. It turns out my father’s dad, Paul Berliner, had a brother named Carl.”