ABSTRACT
From Berlin to Berkeley deals with the life of the author's father and examines his relations with him until his death in 1954. Their emigration from Hitler’s Germany and subsequent life in Palestine and the United States is one story among millions. The number of political refugees in the world today is estimated at ca. 10 million. An estimate of the victims of enforced population movements out of dictatorial states in the 1930s and during the mass expulsions since World War II comes to 50 million. But a total count of all people expelled from their homelands during the twentieth century comes to the staggering figure of 142 million. Generational differences are difficult to separate from language and attributes associated with language. Knowledge of languages facilitates emigration. One learns one’s basic language as a child. New languages are learned more easily the younger one is.
