Michael Berg
Father of Nick Berg
Previously Aired On: May 31, 2006 – Archive Not Currently Availible
Michael Berg was born in Philadelphia on March 3, 1945, into a struggling family with a small business. His father, Harry, flew airplanes in World War II. His mother, Rose, was a person of peace from the inside out. In 1967, Berg earned a BA in English literature and a teaching certificate at Bucknell University.
In March 2004, in Iraq, the American military and the FBI illegally detained Berg’s son Nick, a civilian on a mission of peace, for thirteen days. This detention thrust Nick into an invigorated war, as the Iraqis were energized by the revelation that Americans had committed atrocities in Abu Ghraib. On May 7, 2004, Nick was murdered. A video of his assassination was posted to the murderers’ website. The Berg family, in the midst of tragedy, found itself in the international spotlight. A year after his son’s death, Berg moved from Chester County, Pennsylvania, to Wilmington, Delaware, where he registered as a member of the Green Party.
