Else Berg arrived in Berlin at some point between 1885 and 1900, where according to her own account she studied under Arthur Kampf and others at the Academy of Fine Arts. It was there that Berg met her future life partner in 1908, the Dutch painter Samuel Leser Schwarz, known as “Mommie”, whom she had actually known since childhood. They spent some time together in Paris in 1908/09.
Since neither spoke French well, they associated with other Dutch artists, and also remained in contact with them thereafter. They moved to Amsterdam in late 1909/early 1910. Berg lived and worked as a freelance artist in Amsterdam until 1921. She became acquainted with such artists as Arnout Colnot and Dirk Filarski. Around 1915, the Bergen School emerged with the French painter Henri Le Fauconnier at its heart. Berg had her first solo exhibitions in 1918 and 1919. She married Mommie Schwarz in 1920. When the Netherlands were occupied by the Nazis in May 1940, they initially remained in Amsterdam. But they recognised the seriousness of their situation and hid their paintings with friends and acquaintances. Berg and Schwarz went underground from 1941 to 1942, but for reasons that remain unknown, they returned to Amsterdam, where they were arrested in November 1942 and deported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz, where they were murdered.
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