Goodbye To Berlin

In October, there is a Nazi demonstration against people of Jewish descent. The windows of all of the Jewish shops are smashed, including a shop called Landauers’. Frl. Mayr is delighted by the demonstrations. This angers Isherwood, who tells Frl. Mayr that the Landauers are personal friends of his. In reality, Isherwood has never met the Landauers; a mutual friend has only given Isherwood a letter of introduction to them. Isherwood uses this occasion to write to Frau Landauer, in order to see her.

At the Landauers’ home, Natalia Landauer and Isherwood talk about literature and Isherwood’s writing. Natalia wants Isherwood to bring her a copy of a story he has been working on. She takes Isherwood to the cinema to see a film but doubts he will like it because “it isn’t something clever enough” (143) for him. Natalia has never understood the trope of arguing families in the literature she reads. She tells Isherwood that she could never argue with her parents because she knows that everything they do is out of love for her. Natalia expresses concern about her family’s money being gone one day. She wants to leave school and find a way to earn money for her family.