Goodbye to Berlin
Goodbye to Berlin is a semi-autobiographical collection of six linked stories written by English author Christopher Isherwood and published in 1939, drawing from his residence in the German capital from 1929 to 1933 to portray the cultural vibrancy and political instability of the Weimar Republic's final years as the Nazi Party gained power.[1][2] The narratives, presented through the detached perspective of a character named Christopher Isherwood, interweave encounters with diverse Berliners—including cabaret performers, landladies, and working-class families—against a backdrop of economic hardship, sexual libertinism, and rising antisemitism.[3] The book's central novella, "Sally Bowles," introduces the eponymous English chanteuse, a flighty aspiring actress whose hedonistic lifestyle exemplifies the era's bohemian excess; this character, modeled on the real-life performer Jean Ross, encapsulates Isherwood's unflinching observations of personal detachment amid encroaching totalitarianism.[3][4] Other segments, such as "The Nowaks" and "The Landlady," depict the squalor of proletarian existence and the quirks of middle-class eccentrics like Fräulein Schroeder, whose shifting political sympathies from communism to Nazism reflect broader societal realignments.[4] Isherwood's spare, documentary-style prose prioritizes empirical detail over moral judgment, offering a causal lens on how individual apathy and institutional fragility enabled authoritarian ascent.[2] Goodbye to Berlin's enduring significance stems from its prescient documentation of decadence yielding to fanaticism, later consolidated with Isherwood's 1935 novel Mr. Norris Changes Trains into The Berlin Stories (1945), which influenced theatrical and cinematic adaptations including the 1951 play I Am a Camera and the 1966 musical Cabaret.[1][5] These works amplified the Sally Bowles archetype, though they often heightened dramatic elements beyond the original's understated realism, underscoring the book's role as a primary source for understanding interwar Europe's unraveling.[5]
Composition and Publication
Origins in Isherwood's Berlin Diaries
Christopher Isherwood first arrived in Berlin in early 1929 and resided there intermittently until May 1933, a period spanning the final years of the Weimar Republic. During this time, he maintained detailed personal diaries that recorded his daily observations of the city's vibrant yet deteriorating social fabric, including cabaret culture, economic distress, and the growing presence of National Socialist agitators.[3][6] These Berlin diaries formed the raw source material for Goodbye to Berlin, enabling Isherwood to reconstruct authentic scenes and characters from his contemporaneous notes when compiling the work for publication in 1939.[7][3] Isherwood supported his extended stays by tutoring English to affluent students, which afforded him access to diverse strata of Berlin society, from bohemian artists to political insiders, all documented in his journals. The diaries' objective, unembellished style influenced the book's signature narrative technique, where the semi-autobiographical protagonist—also named Christopher Isherwood—adopts a passive, camera-like detachment to depict events.[8] Particularly evident in the opening section, "A Berlin Diary (Autumn 1930)," Isherwood adapted direct excerpts from his journals to evoke the rhythms of boarding-house life under Fräulein Schroeder and street-level encounters with communists, Nazis, and ordinary Berliners amid hyperinflation's aftermath.[8] Subsequent stories, such as "Sally Bowles," drew from specific diary-recorded meetings with real individuals, including the Anglo-American cabaret performer Jean Ross, whom Isherwood met in 1930. While the diaries preserved factual immediacy, Isherwood later shaped them into fictionalized narratives to heighten dramatic coherence, though he maintained that the core events and portraits remained faithful to his documented experiences.[9]Book Structure and Key Stories
Goodbye to Berlin comprises six interconnected sketches drawn from Christopher Isherwood's experiences in Berlin between 1930 and 1933, presented in semi-autobiographical form without a linear plot.[10] The narrative is framed by two diary entries that bookend the central stories, emphasizing episodic vignettes over continuous chronology.[11] This structure allows Isherwood to capture diverse facets of Weimar-era Berlin, from bohemian nightlife to domestic poverty and rising political tensions.[12] The opening section, A Berlin Diary (Autumn 1930), serves as an introductory reflection on the city's eclectic inhabitants and the narrator's detached observations of its cafes, streets, and emerging unrest.[13] It establishes the "camera-eye" perspective, portraying Berlin as a microcosm of indulgence amid fragility.[9] Sally Bowles focuses on the titular English cabaret performer, an aspiring actress whose chaotic lifestyle and relationships highlight the era's hedonistic expatriate scene.[14] The narrator shares a flat with her, chronicling her abortive ambitions, affairs, and obliviousness to surrounding threats.[15] In On Ruegen Island (Summer 1931), the narrator vacations on the Baltic island, interacting with local families and witnessing early signs of ideological divides among vacationers. This interlude contrasts urban Berlin with rural simplicity, underscoring subtle shifts in social dynamics.[16] The Nowaks depicts the narrator's stay with a working-class family plagued by unemployment, illness, and alcoholism, illustrating the human toll of economic depression.[17] The Nowak household embodies proletarian struggles, with the father's decline and the son's radicalization reflecting broader societal decay.[8] The Landauers centers on a wealthy Jewish department store family, exploring class tensions and antisemitic undercurrents through the narrator's visits to their estate.[18] It contrasts bourgeois assimilation with impending peril, as the Landauers maintain optimism despite discriminatory laws enacted in 1933.[19] The concluding A Berlin Diary (Winter 1932-3) records the narrator's departure amid Nazi consolidation of power following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor on January 30, 1933, evoking a sense of irrevocable loss. This entry shifts from passive observation to active farewell, mirroring the collapse of the Weimar Republic.[20]Initial Publication Details
Goodbye to Berlin, a collection of six interconnected semi-autobiographical stories by Christopher Isherwood, was first published in book form on 14 January 1939 by the Hogarth Press in London.[21][22] The Hogarth Press, operated by Leonard and Virginia Woolf, issued the first edition in a print run that reflected the press's typical small-scale output for literary works of the era.[23] Several of the stories had appeared individually in magazines prior to compilation, including "Sally Bowles" in John Bull on 1 August 1937, but the 1939 volume marked their initial assembly as a unified work.[24] In the United States, the first American edition followed the same year, published by Random House in New York, broadening the book's availability amid rising interest in Isherwood's depictions of pre-Nazi Berlin.[25] The Hogarth edition featured a plain dust jacket and cloth binding, consistent with the press's minimalist design for modernist literature, and sold modestly at the time, with later reprints by publishers like New Directions in 1945 sustaining its readership.[26][27]Historical Context
Weimar Republic's Economic and Political Instability
The Great Depression, triggered by the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, devastated the Weimar economy, which had relied heavily on short-term foreign loans for recovery from World War I reparations and earlier hyperinflation. Industrial production plummeted by about 40% between 1929 and 1932, while unemployment surged from 1.5 million (around 4% of the workforce) at the end of 1929 to 6 million (nearly 30%) by February 1933, with full-time employment dropping from 20 million to just over 11 million workers.[28][29] Wages for those still employed fell by 39% over the same period, exacerbating poverty and social strain in urban centers like Berlin.[29] A severe banking crisis in mid-1931 compounded these woes, originating from the May collapse of Austria's Credit-Anstalt bank and spreading to Germany amid capital flight driven by reparations obligations, high private foreign debt, and investor panic over political uncertainty.[30][31] This led to the failure or suspension of operations at major institutions like Danatbank, freezing credit markets and accelerating factory closures, with government-imposed austerity under Chancellor Heinrich Brüning— including wage cuts and tax hikes—failing to restore confidence and instead deepening deflationary spirals.[30] Politically, the Weimar system's proportional representation produced a fragmented Reichstag, yielding 20 coalition governments and 12 chancellors from 1919 to 1933, each lasting an average of less than a year and reliant on unstable alliances among centrist parties.[32][33] This paralysis enabled the rise of extremists; the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) expanded its Reichstag seats from 12 (2.6% of the vote) in 1928 to 107 (18.3%) in September 1930 and 230 (37.3%) in July 1932, capitalizing on economic despair to draw support from Protestant rural and middle-class voters disillusioned with democratic impotence.[34] Concurrently, the Communist Party (KPD) gained ground, polling 13-17% in the same elections, polarizing politics further.[34] Escalating street violence between Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) squads and Communist paramilitary groups like the Rotfrontkämpferbund turned Berlin and other cities into battlegrounds, with hundreds killed in clashes from 1930 onward, eroding faith in republican authority and normalizing paramilitary confrontation as a political tool.[35][36] Frequent invocations of Article 48 by President Paul von Hindenburg allowed chancellors to rule by decree, bypassing the Reichstag over 100 times after 1930, which undermined constitutional checks and facilitated the shift toward authoritarian governance culminating in Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor on January 30, 1933.[37] The interplay of economic collapse and political gridlock thus created fertile ground for radical ideologies, as mass unemployment bred apathy toward democratic processes and heightened receptivity to promises of restoration.[29]Everyday Life and Rising Extremism in 1930s Berlin
Berlin in the early 1930s grappled with severe economic distress amid the Great Depression, which exacerbated poverty and social dislocation. Unemployment in Germany surged from approximately 1.3 million in mid-1929 to over 6 million by early 1932, pushing the national rate to around 30% by 1933; Berlin, as a major industrial and commercial hub, experienced comparable hardships with widespread joblessness leading to reliance on soup kitchens and the sale of personal belongings for survival.[38][28] Daily existence for many residents involved acute shortages, increased petty crime, and a rise in prostitution as desperate measures against destitution, though the city's pre-Depression cultural vibrancy persisted in pockets of nightlife.[39] Cultural life in Berlin retained elements of exuberance, particularly in cabarets that offered satire, jazz performances, and explorations of sexuality amid political turmoil, though this scene catered largely to a bohemian or affluent minority rather than reflecting the broader populace's struggles. By the early 1930s, these venues featured provocative acts critiquing societal norms and extremism, but attendance waned as economic woes deepened and political intimidation grew, with cabaret troupes facing censorship and violence from rising radical groups.[40] The purported "decadence" of Weimar Berlin—encompassing open hedonism and boundary-pushing art—has often been overstated in retrospect, masking the era's predominant atmosphere of uncertainty and hardship for working-class families.[41] Parallel to these social dynamics, political extremism intensified through street-level violence, as clashes between Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) paramilitaries and communist Red Front Fighters escalated into frequent, bloody confrontations in Berlin's working-class districts. Joseph Goebbels, as Nazi Gauleiter of Berlin from 1926, orchestrated SA operations that targeted opponents and propagated antisemitic rhetoric, contributing to a climate where paramilitary brawls disrupted public order and claimed numerous lives annually.[39][42] The Nazis capitalized on economic despair, with their electoral support in Berlin rising from negligible levels to capturing significant votes in the September 1930 Reichstag elections, amid a fragmented political landscape that rewarded radical promises of restoration and order.[43] This volatility culminated in the Enabling Act of March 1933, following the Reichstag fire, which formalized Nazi consolidation but was presaged by years of intensifying unrest in the capital.[28]Factual Basis Versus Fictional Elements
"Goodbye to Berlin" draws substantially from Christopher Isherwood's real-life experiences in the German capital between March 1929 and May 1933, during which he maintained detailed diaries documenting daily observations of Weimar-era society, economic distress, and the encroaching Nazi influence. These diaries, later referenced in Isherwood's 1976 memoir "Christopher and His Kind," provided raw material for the book's six interconnected stories, capturing authentic elements such as the vibrancy of Berlin's cabaret scene, widespread poverty, and street-level political tensions including Communist-Nazi clashes. However, Isherwood selectively condensed timelines—spanning over four years into a more cohesive narrative—and invented dialogues and interior monologues to enhance dramatic effect, departing from strict chronology found in his journals. The novella "Sally Bowles" exemplifies this blend, with its titular character modeled on Jean Ross, a 19-year-old British singer and actress Isherwood encountered in 1930 at Berlin's Lady Windermere's Fan cabaret. Ross's real-life Bohemian lifestyle, including performances in seedy venues and personal relationships, informed Sally's hedonistic portrayal, but Isherwood amplified her fictional counterpart's vapidness and apolitical detachment, contrasting Ross's actual sharp intellect, left-wing sympathies, and journalistic ambitions—she contributed to outlets like the Daily Worker and later reflected critically on her Soviet experiences. Ross publicly contested the depiction, arguing it misrepresented her as a "feather-brained, promiscuous" caricature rather than the politically engaged figure she was, highlighting Isherwood's artistic liberties in prioritizing narrative detachment over biographical fidelity.[44] Other stories incorporate verifiable factual anchors with fictional embellishments. In "The Landlady," Fräulein Schroeder mirrors Isherwood's actual Nollendorfstrasse boarding-house proprietor, whose gradual embrace of Nazism echoed common middle-class shifts documented in contemporary accounts of Berlin's social fabric, though her specific utterances and domestic details were dramatized from diary sketches. Similarly, "The Nowaks" reflects interactions with a real tubercular working-class family Isherwood aided amid hyperinflation's aftermath, accurately depicting squalid living conditions and medical neglect prevalent in 1931-1932 Berlin slums, yet composites and exaggerated pathos serve the story's ironic tone. The diary-like sections, "A Berlin Diary (Autumn 1930)" and "A Berlin Diary (Winter 1932-3)," preserve near-verbatim observations of sunbathing youths and Nazi election fervor from Isherwood's notes, but selective editing omits broader context like his own homosexual encounters, which he elaborated factually in later writings to underscore the work's stylized objectivity.[9] Isherwood's self-named narrator functions as a passive "camera-eye" observer, rooted in his expatriate detachment but fictionalized to avoid overt autobiography; in "Christopher and His Kind," he clarified that while the book's essence derived from lived perils—like evading Gestapo scrutiny upon departure in 1933—the persona's indifference masked his real emotional investments and political awareness. This interplay underscores the text's semi-fictional status: empirically grounded in historical minutiae, such as the July 1932 Reichstag elections' violence, yet causally interpretive in linking personal apathy to societal collapse, without fabricating core events but reshaping them for literary detachment.[45]Narrative Elements
Plot Overviews of Individual Stories
A Berlin Diary (Autumn 1930)The opening section depicts the narrator, Christopher Isherwood, observing daily life in Berlin from his window in Fräulein Schroeder's boarding house during autumn 1930. He describes the street scenes, including trams, vendors, and passersby, adopting an objective "camera-eye" perspective to capture the city's vibrancy amid economic distress.[13] Inside the boarding house, Isherwood interacts with eccentric tenants such as the hypochondriac Fräulein Mayr and the communist-leaning Herr Anstruther, highlighting petty quarrels and the pervasive influence of inflation on personal relations.[12] Political undercurrents emerge through encounters with Nazi supporters and references to unemployment riots, foreshadowing the republic's instability, though Isherwood maintains personal detachment.[13]
Sally Bowles
In this novella-length story, Isherwood meets Sally Bowles, a 19-year-old English cabaret performer at the Lady Windermere club, characterized by her green nails, affected mannerisms, and aspirations for film stardom. She invites him to share her flat, where their platonic relationship unfolds amid her serial affairs with older men and casual cocaine use.[14] Sally becomes pregnant by an American businessman, undergoes an abortion arranged through a dubious doctor, and recovers superficially while ignoring broader political threats like Nazi rallies.[12] The narrative culminates in her abandonment of Isherwood for a wealthier suitor, Clive, as she pursues opportunistic dreams, embodying personal frivolity against Berlin's encroaching chaos.[14] On Ruegen Island (Summer 1931)
During a seaside vacation on the Isle of Rügen, Isherwood encounters a group of Berlin youths, including the Nowak family's youngest son, engaging in boisterous, carefree antics that contrast with mainland hardships. The episode serves as an interlude, introducing the Nowaks indirectly through the boy's family ties and highlighting class tensions when locals resent the urban visitors' behavior.[11] It underscores themes of transient escape, with Isherwood noting the boys' rough camaraderie and minor conflicts, such as theft accusations, before he returns to Berlin.[11] The Nowaks
Isherwood lodges with the impoverished Nowak family in a Berlin tenement, portraying their squalid existence marked by unemployment, illness, and familial discord. Frau Nowak suffers from tuberculosis exacerbated by poverty, while her husband works sporadically; their children, including delinquent sons like Otto, contribute to household anarchy through theft and defiance.[17] Medical interventions fail amid financial strain, leading to Frau Nowak's sanatorium admission and the family's fragmentation, with Isherwood escaping to casinos for respite.[11] The section illustrates proletarian desperation, including reliance on welfare and exposure to crime, without overt political resolution.[46] The Landauers
Spanning 1930 to 1933, this story details Isherwood's acquaintanceship with the affluent Jewish Landauer family, owners of a department store chain, through tutoring their daughter Natalia and befriending nephew Bernhard. Visits to their luxurious home reveal cultural sophistication and subtle anxieties over antisemitic vandalism, such as smashed shop windows after Nazi demonstrations.[18] Bernhard expresses resentment toward his managerial role and gentile society, while Natalia engages Isherwood in literary discussions; the narrative tracks rising threats, including boycotts, culminating in the family's emigration plans.[47] It contrasts bourgeois vulnerability with earlier depictions of decadence.[46] A Berlin Diary (Spring 1933)
The closing diary entries chronicle Isherwood's final weeks in Berlin as the Nazis consolidate power post-Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933. He witnesses brownshirt patrols, arbitrary arrests of communists and Jews, and enforced conformity, such as the dismissal of a landlady's Nazi tenant.[11] Personal routines persist amid censorship and violence, including a friend's internment; Isherwood departs for Prague in May 1933, reflecting on the city's transformed atmosphere of fear and propaganda.[9] The section emphasizes the swift shift from Weimar pluralism to totalitarian control.[11]