By Sven Kuschel and Hans-Wilhelm Saure
Their friendship was always stronger than oblivion. Only death could tear them apart. The memory will stay…
Almost 84 years ago, two Jewish schoolgirls (9 at the time) had to say goodbye to each other in their schoolyard in the Tiergarten district.
Annemarie Wahrenberg, who calls herself Ana Maria today, at the age of six in 1936 when she started school in Berlin Photo: Private
Best friends since the first day of school! Fleeing from the Nazis tore them apart for decades and thousands of miles. Their newly adopted names made it impossible for them to see each other again. But they never stopped believing in the miracle. And it came…
Ilse Kohn, who later called herself Betty, as a girl of about eight in Berlin Photo: Private
Ana Maria Wahrenberg (93), who now lives in Chile, was still called “Annemarie” when she left Berlin in autumn 1939. The same age “Betty” Grebenschikoff (born “Kohn”) was called “Ilse” by her parents.
Her family fled to Shanghai via Italy in May. Only years later did it go via Australia to the USA. She had five children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren – and was always looking for the old friend.
Ana Maria met her future husband Hans in Chile. Marriage: 1952. They had two children, five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren Photo: Private
The small, big miracle
A good two years ago, the two women finally found each other after 82 years with the help of the Shoah Foundation and the Jewish Museum in Chile. For both of them, the “happy ending” was a new beginning.
They giggled like little girls on countless video calls, met under the Florida palm trees. The families got to know each other.
Betty’s daughter Jennifer now announces the sad news: “Our beloved Betty passed away peacefully on February 22nd. She never tired of being a contemporary witness to ensure that the stories of so many are not forgotten. We’re thankful.”
Betty (then Ilse) came to the USA via Japanese-occupied Shanghai (here wearing a kimono) as a refugee via Australia Photo: Private
Ana Maria (93) cherishes the poetry album that her friend wrote in decades ago. It is and will remain her treasure. She says: “I was very fortunate to be her friend. She was a special person. She’s been looking for me her whole life. After we found each other again, we talked on the phone every Sunday and kept in touch up until the day of her death. A higher power guided our reunion. Friendship knows no bounds. That has been proven.”
Both women fought tirelessly on different continents to prevent the Holocaust from being forgotten. Ana Maria will continue to do so. Also for her friend. The story of the two Berlin girls who found each other has a very special place in their stories.