Page 37 - Willi Distel Diary

Willi's brief Stockholm posting from Feb 1927: a chaotic salon under Frau Bergner, made manager, then handing in notice as an expulsion order arrives. [needs a human eye]

Translated from Willi's German.

Stockholm From 16 February - At eleven at night I arrived in Stockholm. I hired a car and drove to the journeymen's house, where I found no room. After a long search I came upon a small hotel, where I spent three nights. At the Centralbad I called on Anderson to ask for work, and after three days I managed to get a place with Frau Bergner. In that business I found conditions I cannot begin to describe. There were Lundberg, the senior worker, Frau Karlsson, and Schwert. Frau Bergner was in love with Lundberg, and he went along with her until her fortune of 16,000 marks was spent; then he left her, and Frau Karlsson left too, on the very day I arrived. I was stamped as the manager, but the constant chatter never stopped. At first I fought against it, but since I found support from no quarter, in the end I gave up as well. I handed in my notice, and at the same time the expulsion order came. Bergner was a half-mad woman and Lundberg a man-about-town; the sister, Klies, whom I saw two or three times, was no better. I also met Gemzel. But I must say the people of Stockholm are very cheerful folk, and as far as I could see, they are...

People: Willi Distel, Frau Bergner, Lundberg, Frau Karlsson, Anderson, Schwert, Klies, Gemzel

Interesting facts

Stockholm, city on the water. Sweden's capital is built across fourteen islands where Lake Malaren meets the Baltic Sea, linked by many bridges, which is why water and boats are never far from view.
The journeymen's house. A 'Gesellenhaus' was a hostel where travelling craftsmen could find cheap lodging and news of work. Willi heads straight there on arrival, as journeymen traditionally did in a strange city.
The Centralbadet. The Centralbad was a grand public bath house in central Stockholm, opened in 1904. Such establishments often housed barbers and hairdressers, which is the trade Willi practised.
Expelled by the police. Without settled work papers a foreign worker could be ordered to leave the country. The expulsion order that arrives just as Willi resigns reflects the strict residence rules foreigners faced in the 1920s.