Wait, What?

He asked the archivist if he would like to have that. The toy monkey was with him for 80 years now. The archivist himself was surprised when Gert made the offer to him. The toy was completely worn out with one of his limbs gone. Aubrey asked Gert to reconsider his decision.

So Much Meaning

Pomerance said, “and I remember him looking at me and saying, you’d like to have it for the museum, wouldn’t you? And I said to him, Gert, it’s such a personal object. It’s an object which has so much meaning and is filled with emotion for you. I’d never ask for you to give it to the museum. He said, you know what? I’ll think about it.”

Handing It Over

Gert finally decided to give it to the museum. Gert said, “Frances, my wife, didn’t want to give it away (laughter). But I did give it away.” The toy was the only connection between him and his past.

8 Decades

He had held onto it for 8 decades and now was the time to let go of it for a bigger cause. At that time Gert and any of his family members had no idea that this generous act was going to bring back the old days. He gave away his toy in 2003.

Usual

Twelve years down the road, everything was the way they had been. The toy was gracing the museum for over twelve years. In 2015, a woman going by the name Erika Petterson visited the museum. The toy monkey had Gert Berliner’s name carved beside it. 

Opening It

There were many other mementos but Erika who had come to the museum for the first time opened only this one. The mementos belonged to Jewish children who spent their time in the Holocaust.