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Berger, Monica (audio interview #4 of 6)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This interview was conducted at Berger's home in Leisure World in Seal Beach. 7/4/1979
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- 2020-11-04
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- *** File: cbmberger7.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:44)... In September 1932, Berger and her son began a trip from Newark to California on a ship named the Dixie. On the ship they met a woman with a 12 year old son on their way to New Orleans. The two boys played together on the ship and became lifelong friends. When the ship reached New Orleans, the two women took sightseeing tours of the city. (2:44-7:06)... From New Orleans, Berger and her son took a train to California. The friends Berger and ger son made on the ship went to San Francisco, while she and her son went to Los Angeles. Earning money in beauty salons was difficult because people were cutting back on luxuries during the Depression. In addition, Berger lost much of her savings during the stock market crash. (7:06-11:54)... Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Berger and her son stayed with friends. At first, she had trouble finding work because she did not have a beautician license in California. A friend tried to get her a job as a nurse at Los Angeles County hospital, but she was not allowed to work there because she had not lived in the area long enough. One day during a job search, she met a German woman willing to rent her a beauty salon. (11:54-16:02)... Berger was skeptical about renting a beauty shop, but she decided to look at the facility. The shop was quite small, and rent was $10 per month. She had to get her own supplies and machines for the shop. She bought a permanent waving machine from another woman whose beauty shop was going out of business. Berger found a nearby bungalow and moved out from her friends' place. (16:02-20:43)... Berger's new beauty salon already had a license, so she was able to operate legally. The owner of the shop often came to visit and brought sandwiches and a radio to listen to when there were no customers. Berger's business grew and some days she had to work until 11 or 12 at night. Many customers told her they were nurses at the nearby hospital and wanted credit until they received their paychecks. It turned out that some of the women were not nurses at all, and Berger ended up losing money. (20:43-23:15)... When Berger had to have her tonsils removed, she closed the beauty shop for three or four weeks. The surgery led to complications and she almost died. When she recovered, she found that much of her business was gone. Later she joined the Mozart Ladies Chorus and found new customers and friends through the group. (23:15-27:15)... Berger and her son moved to a duplex near Los Angeles County hospital and the beauty shop. After five years, they decided to move because they felt the area was not good for children. One of Berger's friends helped her find a place in Highland Park. They found a good location that was near many shops and grocery stores. (27:15-31:41)... In Highland Park, Berger met a young German girl who sewed fancy undergarments. Berger rented a room to the girl, and she lived there until she got married. Business at the beauty shop was good, and they were able to live comfortably. After her son graduated, he earned extra money helping the elderly ladies in the neighborhood. Berger put him in control of the finances at the shop. (31:41-33:48)... For some reason, the people in the neighborhood thought Berger was impoverished, and they brought her donations of food. Berger was embarassed, but also felt inspired by the generosity of these people. Business grew even more when she learned a new technique of cutting wavy hair with a razor. (33:48-38:02)... Berger spent more time with the Mozart Ladies Chorus and attending political lectures. Before the US became involved in WWII, there were many discussions about Hitler and German politics. Some speakers came to California in support of Hitler, and Berger spoke out against them. Many younger Germans tried to establish pro-Hitler clubs in the area. (38:02-41:27)... The German club Berger was involved with decided to invite anti-Hitler speakers to lecture in Los Angeles. The pro-Hitler clubs were determined to eliminated any groups that sponsored anti-Hitler lectures. Some people even sent their children to Saturday school dressed in German uniforms. When that happened, Berger withdrew her son from that school. (41:27-45:06)... The pro-Hitler organizations in California were tracked by the FBI. Berger remembers that the people who sent their children to school in German uniforms were photographed by the FBI. The reputations of local organizations of German immigrants were destroyed by these activities. Many years later, German cultural clubs began to revive.. END OF TAPE *** File: cbmberger8.mp3 (0:00-3:35)... The German bund that Berger belonged to owned a park in Verdugo Hills, but the land was taken by the government during WWII. Originally, the bund only focused on cultural and social matters, but the Los Angeles organization became political when many young people joined hoping to spread support of Hitler. (3:35-6:50)... The Los Angeles German bund owned several halls in southern California and used them for social gatherings, lectures, and physical culture exhibits. It also opened a center to keep youth out of trouble and a restaurant to serve German food. The bund was able to buy so much property because its members bought shares to finance purchases. (6:50-10:26)... The Los Angeles German bund provided a variety of services. Berger believed it united Germans in the area and helped new immigrants find other Germans already living here. Berger's son learned how to hike and ski in a nature program operated by the bund. (10:26-12:07)... There were few controversies among German bund members until Hitler began to rise to power. Events in Germany had a great influence on Germans in the United States. The German government tried to draft Berger's son into the army. Those who opposed Hitler advised Berger to stay away from the German consulate. (12:07-15:15)... Peter Berger, who Berger subsequently married, had saved his money while he worked in Shell Oil operating oil camps and felt comfortable enough to retire in 1936 while he was fairly young. He had been married for six years, when his wife died from cancer. Later, he began investing in real estate including building houses in Inglewood. (15:15-18:27)... Berger's son returned from WWII in good health. At age 50, she married Peter. Berger after his first wife died Before they married, they made a contract which specified that each could choose to have the marriage annulled after a year. They ended up having a happy marriage and bought their first apartment building in Highland Park. As they moved into the rental business, Berger closed her beauty salon. (18:27-22:05)... Berger and her husband focused on buying and renovating rental properties. They had beautiful houses, but only charged $15-$18 in rent. Without telling her husband, Berger raised the rents to $28-$30. Some tenants moved out, but it ended up being a good move. Soon after, the Office of Price Administration imposed a rent freeze. Berger was glad she had raised the rent when she had the chance. (22:05-24:53)... With rent freezes, Berger worried about their limited income. She and her husband decided to invest in a 32-unit apartment building in Long Beach, although the building was subject to rent freezes as well. Mr. Berger was less worried about money, and wondered why Berger wanted to raise rents. He was content to have enough money to eat each day and rarely spent lavishly on himself. (24:53-26:47)... The Bergers bought the Long Beach apartment building in 1942, and soon the government ordered them not to rent seasonally; WWII created a need to provide housing for permanent workers. Negotiating with the Office of Price Administration, Berger was able to arrange to rent their apartments by the month. When Berger found herself managing around 50 rental units, they decided to hire someone to help manage the buildings that were farthest away. (26:47-29:30)... When Berger married, Mr. Berger bought her a De Soto and insisted on teaching her to drive. He took her out in traffic, and she became frustrated. Sometimes she sneaked away with her son to practice because her son was more patient. After six months, she got her license. (29:30-33:40)... The Bergers owned the Lyle Apartments in Long Beach until the city took over the land to build a new city hall. Before WWII, Long Beach was a vacation spot, and many people came here to visit the beaches. During wWII, the city grew dramatically and many new buildings were built. (33:40-38:15)... When Berger first came to Los Angeles in 1932, she thought it was a strange place. There seemed to be many different types of people with an unfamiliar outlooks on life. She found the 1933 earthquake was even more shocking. She was in her beauty shop when it happened and she left her clients to go home and check on her son. She heard the story of a man who had built a brand new apartment building and committed suicide when it was destroyed in the quake. (38:15-40:50)... At the time of the interview, Berger had fond memories of Long Beach, but worried when many of the older buildings were destroyed to build a large shopping center. With her husband, Berger moved from Highland Park to Sunland, and then to the Long Beach apartment building for a year. Her son was married and lived in Long Beach where he worked for the government in the harbor. Berger felt that Long Beach was her home. (40:50-45:03)... Since her first days in Long Beach, Berger witnessed many changes. She felt that many of them were for the worse, as beautiful old buildings were torn town. In Europe, there were laws limiting which buildings could be torn down and European cities were able to grow and prosper without removing historical buildings. WWII brought many dramatic changes to Long Beach. END OF TAPE
- SUBJECT BIO - Monica Berger and her husband owned and managed apartments and other real estate in downtown Long Beach and other parts of southern California in the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, she saw the area change from a residential community of retired folks into a modern civic and international trade center. Berger was born in Germany and followed other members of her family by emigrating to New York. By the time of the Second World War, she'd moved to Los Angeles and opened a beauty shop. She cut and styled women's hair in her shop to support herself and her son. She also participated in local social and political organizations of German immigrants until the war made such activities suspect. After the war, she met and married Peter Berger who had saved his money and retired as a real estate owner and manager. She took over management of some of his real estate holdings and negotiated the sale of a large apartment building in Long Beach when the city took over the land to expand its civic center. Later she and her husband lived in the desert and bought and sold real estate there, before moving back to Long Beach. When her husband died and she became older, she moved to Leisure World, a retirement community in nearby Seal Beach. TOPICS - move to California with son in 1932; difficulties finding work in Los Angeles; rental of a beauty salon; obtaining beautician license; surgery for tonsillitis; participation in Mozart Ladies Chorus; move to Highla participation in Los Angeles German bund; difficulties with the rise of Hitler; introduction to Peter Berger; marriage at age 50; experience in the rental property business; problems dealing with rent freezes and
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