One can refer to “the passing of a generation” or perhaps to “the last survivor of the Shanghai Holocaust exile.” The weight of history can overshadow the individuality of the loss of Lizzi Berger. In truth, she was both an embodiment of history and a woman of quiet, consistent dignity and friendship.
The history speaks for itself. Born Lizzi Salzman in Vienna in 1927; then, Kristallnacht; then, miraculous escape to Shanghai; then a bitter seven-year existence — oppressive heat, grinding poverty, dead-end future. But, in the case of Lizzi Salzman and Julius Berger, who met and married in Shanghai, also a time of hope. They envisioned a future for themselves and realized that future in Denver for more than half a century and then further in Miami.
One imagines that the unfailing modesty, the keen intelligence, the quiet dedication to Jewish life of Lizzi Berger, evident in Denver for 50 years, predated Denver and predated Shanghai. She brought the pre-Holocaust Jewish culture of Vienna, its learning, its commitment, its dignity, to the next generation — not just to her own offspring but to all who interacted with her in her home and in her chesed work.
Berger was devoted to institutions which, altough now a bulwark of Denver Jewry, were once mere shoots whose future was uncertain. She was one of the believers in the future who worked to make Hillel Academy, Yeshiva Toras Chaim and Beth Jacob High School successful. We are proud to note that she may have been the longest subscriber to the Intermountain Jewish News. Even at an advanced age, she would not allow the world to pass her by, nor the events of her beloved Denver.
Something else. It’s history. It’s individuality. It’s rare. It’s beautiful. It’s Lizzi Berger speaking. In a way, it says more than any possible accolade bestowed on her by the many who mourn her passing. It is this: Lizzi Berger leaves behind Jewish children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-granchildren.
The great chasm of WW II could not still the determined faith in G-d, and faith in the Jewish future, of Lizzi Berger. May her memory be an inspiration.
© IJN 2026
