HISTORIC PHONE CALL-Friend hunts Queens woman for 60 years to return family artworks

After losing virtually everything as a child, Lillyan Cohn Rosenberg was given a second chance to embrace and discover her family’s heritage, after a twist of fate led her to a childhood friend who had spent a lifetime in search of her.
Rosenberg, a Jew born in the small town of Halberstadt, Germany, over 70 years ago, grew up during an extremely volatile time in history. When the Nazis gained control over Germany in the late 1930’s, Rosenberg was just a small girl. Her father Ernst, a shopkeeper, was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. For her own safety, Rosenberg was sent to Great Britain in 1939 just two months before WWII began.
Rosenberg stayed with a British family for several years keeping a diary of her experiences until meeting up with her brother and moving to New York where she met her husband of 56 years, Gerald Rosenberg. She never did see her parents again.
Rosenberg now lives in Beechhurst, Queens. Her diaries from her time during the war were praised and now appear in German textbooks and museums. She finally returned to Germany after many years to lecture and speak to young students about her experiences.
“The children were concerned that they would have to bear the burden of what their ancestors had done during WWII,” said Rosenberg. “I told those children that you cannot be responsible for things that happened before you were born. You must take responsibility for the decisions you make in your own life to ensure something like this never happens again.”
Although Rosenberg’s life had been extraordinary, she could never imagine the turn it was about to take. In 2005, Rosenberg received a phone call from a man named Horst Hesse who claimed to have known her as a child. Rosenberg barely could remember Horst.
“The only Horst I knew was a doll I played with as a child,” said Rosenberg.
Hesse had been in search of Rosenberg for over 60 years and because she had toured the country speaking about her life, her name had become known once again. He informed her that he had in his possession priceless family heirlooms left over from the war. Rosenberg’s father had given certain pieces of art, furniture and silver to the Hesse family for safekeeping during the war since they were not Jewish. Hesse’s father made him promise to return the items to the Cohn family.
“I couldn’t believe it. Horst called me and said, ‘I’ve looked for you all my life and I have finally found you.’ ”
Word spread across the country that Hesse, a German soldier had spent a lifetime in search of a Jewish family for the sole purpose of returning property.
“The story really proved that there are good people in Germany,” she added.
Rosenberg and her family flew to Germany amidst a storm of media coverage to receive the items which included two original paintings by her mother.
“It was an extremely moving experience for my sons and my grandchildren,” said Rosenberg. “We were a part of history. It wasn’t just a story anymore.”
Rosenberg allowed the museum to keep a few pieces and took some items home to New York with her. One item has yet to be returned to Rosenberg. A copy of the Ten Commandments in Hebrew had been donated to a museum in Berlin over the years.
To date the museum has refused to return it. Rosenberg is negotiating with the museum and hopes to see it again some day.