Langenscheidt's pocket dictionary Dictionary

Identifier
irn525823
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2015.312.5
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 6.125 inches (15.557 cm) | Width: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm) | Depth: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Alfred Berg (1924-2013) was born in Vienna, Austria, to Julius and Frieda Berg. Frieda was born in Poland, and immigrated to Vienna as a young girl with her family. Alfred’s father was born in Narajow, Germany (now Porajów, Poland) and was an orphan with no immediate family. He fought for Germany during World War I and afterward he moved to Vienna where he met his future wife. Alfred had a sister, Charlotte, who was six years younger than him. Their father worked as a tailor, Alfred and Charlotte went on picnics and swam in the Danube, the family had a nice, comfortable life. On March 13, 1938, Austria was annexed into Germany in what became known as the Anschluss. German authorities quickly created new legislation that restricted Jewish life. Jews were arrested, required to report their assets, and segregated in public places. After the Anschluss, Alfred was attacked by other boys for being a Jew. During Kristallnacht, Alfred’s father was arrested and taken to the police precinct where his head was shaved, he was only released because he was the commanding officer’s tailor. After Kristallnacht the Bergs began looking for ways to escape Austria. In preparation for immigration to Palestine, Alfred began to learn how to farm. In early 1939, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, with support from the president of the Independent Order of Brith Sholom, Lewis Levine began developing a plan to rescue Jewish children inside Nazi Germany. They were able to obtain 50 U.S. visas and then travelled to Germany in April to select the children for rescue. Upon their arrival the Krauses were told by the Consular Chargé d'Affaires that there were over 200 eligible children in Vienna, and they immediately left for the Austrian capital. In May, Alfred’s sister Charlotte was selected for rescue. Just days before they were to leave Vienna, one of the children, Heinrich Steinberger became ill. Because he was too sick to travel, the Krauses chose Alfred to take his place. Charlotte and Alfred boarded a train to Berlin with the rest of the children on May 21. They arrived in Berlin later that day and were scheduled for physical examinations and final processing the following day. From Berlin they went to Hamburg, Germany, and boarded the SS President Harding and left for New York on May 23. They arrived on June 3 and were taken to the Brith Sholom retreat in Pennsylvania. While there they took courses in civics and US history, as well as English-language training. After the retreat, Charlotte lived with distant relatives in Brooklyn, NY and Alfred stayed with a foster family in Jersey City, NJ. Charlotte was distraught; she missed her mother and was not eating. Alfred visited his younger sister every weekend until their parents emigrated in December, 1939. Reunited, the family settled in Brooklyn where Alfred’s father worked for 3G, making suits. On June 11, 1943, Alfred was drafted. He joined the Navy Seabees (Construction Battalion) as a private and was sent to Okinawa, Japan. However, before he arrived in Okinawa, the war ended. While in the navy Alfred was picked on by the other sailors because of his Jewish heritage. After his service ended, Albert returned to New York where he met Marianne Salomon, a fellow Holocaust survivor. Marianne emigrated from Germany to Iowa with her parents in 1938. They lived in Iowa for five years and then moved to New York. In 1953 Alfred and Marianne married. Alfred became a stock broker and Marianne worked as a legal secretary. The couple had two children and three grandchildren and lived in New Jersey.

Archival History

The dictionary was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Marianne Salomon Berg, the wife of Alfred Berg.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Marianne Berg

Scope and Content

Alfred Berg was a teenage boy living in Vienna with his parents and younger sister Charlotte when Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss on March 13, 1938. German authorities quickly created new legislation that restricted Jewish life. Alfred was targeted by bullies because of his Jewish heritage and on November 9-10 during the Kristallnacht pogrom, his father was arrested and later released by local police. In May 1939, Charlotte was one of fifty Jewish children from Vienna selected by Americans Gilbert and Eleanor Krauss to be rescued from the Nazis and taken to the United States. Days before the mission was to leave Vienna one of the children became ill and was unable to travel. Alfred was selected to take his place. Alfred and Charlotte arrived in New York on May 23 and later in the year their parents were able to immigrate to the United States. On June 11, 1943, Alfred was drafted. He joined the Navy Seabees (Construction Battalion) as a private and was sent to Okinawa, Japan, but arrived after the war ended. After his service ended, Albert returned to New York where he met and married Marianne Salomon, a fellow Holocaust survivor.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Book; 9th edition; 476 pp; 15.625 cm. Small hardcover book printed in German and English with a blue cover with several small raised circles inside a triangle which is inside a larger circle. The cover is held on by a layer of blue tape and scotch tape. The rounded spine has German text printed in gold at the top and bottom. The top is against an orange background, and the text is visible through two large squares cut from the blue tape.

People

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.