In Ignorance

This way many years passed by and that toy monkey remained forgotten in a suitcase. But after almost seven decades its time had come to step out of that suitcase. Gert was immensely in love with that toy of his.

As A Child

Why would he not be? The toy reminded of his carefree day as a child. Of the time when he used to ride his bicycle with the toy clung on the handlebar of his bike. And of the time he played with it whenever he used to get bored.

I Liked Him

Berliner recalled his father once saying about the toy, “I liked him. He was like a good luck piece.” And its charm was still not gone. Little did he know that the toy he had kept inside a suitcase was going to bring the biggest change in his life.

Exhibition

He finally took his toy monkey out when Aubrey Pomerance, the Jewish Museum Berlin’s archivist asked him if he had anything that they could showcase in an exhibition. Aubrey was looking for something personal that could appeal to the visitors.

Archivist

“In 2003, an archivist from the Jewish Museum Berlin named Aubrey Pomerance visited my dad at his apartment in Manhattan. My dad had met Aubrey before and liked him. This time, Aubrey was there to ask a favor. Did my father have something from when he was a Jewish child living in Nazi Germany? Something that visitors to the museum could relate to personally?” said Uri.

Something Personal

Gert recalls the conversation to National Public Radio, “When he was here, he said, you know, we have exhibits. And at the exhibits, what people really want is something personal. Do you have anything? And I thought, I don’t know. Then I realized what I had. I had a little monkey.”