Page 23

Willi is about 19 here

Berlin

Close of the Berlin chapter: resigning after the police affair, the city's entertainments, and moving on to Wilhelmshaven

Diary page 23

Translated from Willi's German.

He denied it, and proved that he was not the one, but resigned on the spot. The silent struggle was distasteful to me too, and quite calmly I gave notice. I meant to head blindly for Hamburg, but chance brought me to Wilhelmshaven. The sociable life took me all around Berlin; wherever anything worthwhile was going on, there I was to be seen. So I got to a great many theatres, places of entertainment and sports grounds, and I even came to know Berlin's nightlife. Potsdam, Wannsee and Grunewald I used for excursions. All in all, Berlin remains Berlin - I liked it very much, and I shall very probably go there again. I lodged with Frau Schaller, a small and extremely venomous woman. I never liked it at her place. On leaving I still had a little run-in with her over an alleged 3.50 marks of debt. She had a son. In the shop we also had an apprentice girl, Kaetchen Mueller, who was very pretty and young; I often had fun with her.

People: Willi Distel, Frau Schaller, Kaetchen Mueller

Places: Berlin, Potsdam, Wannsee, Grunewald, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven

Interesting facts