Berliner was born in Opatow in southern Poland. His father was Yaakov Hersh and he had a brother Labish (b. 1927). The later died in Theresienstadt in June 1945. His father disappeared in 1942 and his mother, Brandler, was murdered in Auschwitz with his sister Hadassah (b. 1931). The fate of his sister Fella, is not known. His sisters Frida and Ruchula survived and went to Israel. Nothing is known about Berliner’s childhood.