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Berger, Monica (audio interview #3 of 6)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This interview was conducted at Berger's home at Leisure World in Seal Beach. 5/22/1979
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- 2020-10-30
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- *** File: cbmberger5.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:53)... While Berger was recovering from pleurisy in Germany, she found a job where she could work half-time exporting books. It was during that time that her grandmother died, and Berger received an inheritance so she did some traveling. In her travels, she met a woman who wanted her to work in a cafe, but she did not want to do that sort of work. (3:53-6:07)... Instead of waiting tables, Berger found work as a governess with a family in France. She helped care for the children during the summer, and later went to work for another family of bankers. She was working with that family in France when WWI was declared. Berger wanted to return to the US, but was not allowed to because she was a German citizen. (6:07-8:53)... Since she could not go back to America, Berger stayed with the family she was working for in France. She was afraid at times because she was the only German in the upscale French town. Later she was sent to a type of internment camp for Germans at a local gymnasium. Many of the German girls there did not get along with each other; the quarters were crowded and they fought other over access to bathrooms. (8:53-11:33)... In March 1915, Berger, along with other "captured" Germans were exchanged for French prisoners who had been held in Germany. Berger returned to Germany and set out to visit her brother, who was scheduled to leave for military service. When she arrived in the town where he lived, she was escorted by a policeman because she could not find her way. When she found her destination, she was treated kindly, but noticed that Germans lacked many of the luxuries available to the French. (11:33-12:59)... Finally, Berger found her brother and they spent two days together. Berger returned to Stuttgart and got a job with another wealthy family taking care of a newborn baby. She enjoyed working with the family, but there was pressure from the government for everyone to make contributions to the war effort. Then she began working in an ammunition factory. (12:59-15:05)... During this time, Berger was continually told that marriage was the only option for women. After maintaining her independence for a long while, she finally gave in to the pressures and married. Her husband had to serve in the war, and returned from battles with many serious injuries, including a bullet wound in his brain. Berger got pregnant, but her husband had become so sick, he was not able to see his child. With her husband's recovery unlikely, Berger decided to move back to the US. (15:05-19:03)... Berger was unable to leave for America because she was not a US citizen. Life after the war was difficult, and Berger's brother came home from the military with terrible injuries. Berger was determined to go to America and began working again and saving money. She traveled to different towns selling linens while her son stayed at home. Relatives from America sent her gifts for her son. (19:03-22:39)... In order to raise money to move to America, Berger sold her right to an apartment to a postal employee. Later, she auctioned off her household items and other goods. Her father wanted her to deposit her money in a bank, but Berger insisted on taking it and going to the US. She found a sponsor and left for America in 1922. (22:39-26:12)... Berger wanted to find work and get established in America before bringing her son to join her. She had to convince the American government that she was unable to bring her child because he was sick. Berger's son stayed with one of her cousins who also wanted to emigrate to America. Berger made an arrangement with an employer and her son was able to join her in the US. (26:12-30:33)... In America, Berger began attending cosmetology school before her son arrived. Her cousin from Germany also joined her and helped care for her son. Berger had trouble keeping a job in beauty shops because of her inexperience. Finally she found a job and where she learned not only how to do hair, but also how to manage a beauty shop. (30:33-33:27)... Berger went to work at another beauty shop and learned to marcel, which was the highest paying job in the shop. Unfortunately, the stock market crash and economic downturn shut down many of the shops that served wealthy women. Berger tried to find work in New York, but when she could only find low-paying jobs, she began to work in nursing again. (33:27-37:58)... In New York, Berger did not have many friends. She attended political lectures and became interested in writing. She began writing opinion columns for a German-language newspaper. Later she was put in charge of women's issues on a page featuring issues for new immigrants. Her writing helped keep her occupied while her son was still in Germany. She wrote for the paper until 1932, when she moved to California. (37:58-39:39)... Berger wrote for a small German-language newspaper in New York for a year and a half and continued when it was taken over by a larger publication. It was during this time that she began using the name Monica for her columns. Previously, she went by the name Minnie, a derivative of her German name. In her columns, she opposed Hitler and wrote about German politics as well as women's issues. (39:39-43:02)... When Berger moved to Los Angeles in 1932, she opened her own beauty shop. She and her son became involved in the German community and she joined the Ladies Mozart chorus. There were a number of German cultural groups in Los Angeles, including the German Bund. Some members of the bund were admirers of Hitler. At one event, pro- and anti-Hitler Germans fought each other. (43:02-45:01)... German cultural clubs in Los Angeles were highly politicized, and some of the women threatened to leave the clubs after disagreements with political lectures. Events in Germany led to conflicts among Germans in the United States. END OF TAPE *** File: cbmberger6.mp3 (0:00-2:14)... After WWII, Berger was invited back to Europe by one of her aunts for a family gathering. Among the other guests was a man Berger's aunt had wanted her to marry before WWI. Her aunt intended to show Berger what she had been missing, but Berger did not regret her choice. The aunt, herself, was not as happy as she pretended to be and ended up killing herself. (2:14-6:23)... In the US, Berger kept busy while her son was in Germany. She built up the business at her beauty shop. When she later came to California, she found the business more difficult here because of state regulations. After a long period of not having work, she found an opportunity to open up her own beauty shop. (6:23-10:47)... When Berger opened her beauty shop, she paid $10 a month for rent. She had trouble attracting clients for the first few days because it was raining. With no customers, she stayed in the shop and listened to a radio. By that time, her son was working to help support then. (10:47-13:00)... When the rain finally ended, Berger's business began to boom, especially around the holidays. Some of her customers worked at a local hospital, and she offered to serve them on credit so they could pay when they got paid. After working for two years she became ill with tonsillitis. During the surgery, the doctor injured her and she spent a long time in a hospital recovering. In her absence, the beauty shop lost many customers. (13:00-16:22)... Berger moved closer to the local hospital and opened up a new shop. She became friends with a woman who had a daughter about the same age as her son and they agreed that they were afraid that the escalating neighborhood violence would endanger their families. One night, Berger was attacked by a young boy, but she managed to escape. Attacks were common and Berger decided to leave the neighborhood. (16:22-19:38)... Berger and her friend moved to Highland Park and opened up a new beauty shop. The Depression had a drastic effect on her life and business was tough. Her son began working at a radio shop and learned how to repair electronic equipment. Later, when he joined the military, he became a technician. Berger did not want him to join the military, but let him go when he was old enough to make his own decisions. (19:38-21:27)... The Depression slowed business in the beauty shop. Sometimes Berger styled women's hair in exchange for eggs or other food. One Christmas, people in her neighborhood brought her a turkey. Berger started to earn more money when she learned a new technique for cutting hair. People came from great distances to have their hair done at her shop. (21:27-23:44)... One of the Berger's customers was a woman named Mrs. Berger. Mrs. Berger died and left her husband a widower. Through friends, Berger was introduced to Mr. Berger and they grew to be friends. Mr. Berger was wealthy, but he did not know how to invest his money. Some of her friends urged her to marry him, but Berger said he was not romantic enough. (23:44-26:32)... Mr. Berger wanted to marry, but Berger refused unless he bought her a proper ring. Mr. Berger took her to a jeweler to pick out a ring bought her a ring whose stone alone cost $1000. They were married in 1941, a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (26:32-28:55)... Mr. Berger was quite wealthy, and Berger was unaccustomed to living with such a man. He gave away large sums of money and bought Berger a new De Soto and also taught her how to drive in his old Dodge. Berger's life after marriage was much easier than when she was alone with her son. (28:55-30:46)... After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Berger's son joined the Army. Mr. Berger became the block warden and they were ready to provide first aid. Berger's son got married when he returned from the war. Mr. Berger lived for 92 years, and they had a good life together. Berger suspected that her husband was jealous of her relationship with her son because he had no children. (30:46-34:57)... After she was married, Berger wanted to sell her business, but many of her customers wanted her to continue to cut their hair. She continued to cut hair at home and helped run the apartment building where they lived in Highland Park. The Bergers bought another apartment building in Long Beach, and Berger learned to manage rental properties. (34:57-38:07)... While her husband bought buildings, Berger was in charge of renting them and interacting with tenants. At times, she worried about their income because rents were frozen during WWII. Sometimes this was further complicated when they had to make repairs or had other expenses. (38:07-40:37)... The Bergers continued to buy, sell, and rent homes for a living. Sometimes, they disagreed on deals and how much money they could make. Renting properties was stressful on Berger, especially because they were many rowdy tenants. She decided to invest in stocks to escape the headaches of managing real estate. (40:37-44:55)... Berger was very glad to have moved to California. In 1933, there was a great earthquake that struck while she was doing a woman's hair in her beauty shop. Unfamiliar with earthquakes, Berger asked the woman, "Does it always do this here?" She was worried about her son, but she found him safe at home. He thought the earthquake was fun. Later, Berger arranged to got a license from a State Board to operate her beauty shop. 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 - recovery from pleurisy in Germany; job as a book exporter; grandmother's death; work in France as a governess; hardships at the break of WWI; captivity in France; return to Germany; visit to her brother before he development of her beauty shop; surgery for tonsillitis; relocation to Highland Park to escape neighborhood crime; son's employment in electronics repair; hardships during the Great Depression; marriage to Peter B
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