BOOK REVIEW – CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD – THE LANDAUERS in
GOODBYE TO BERLIN 1939 Vintage Books. – A riot erupts in Berlin and the Nazis destroy a number of Jewish properties, in a media regards as a minor event with few people hurt. The event reminds Isherwood that he has been invited to meet with the prominent Jewish
family, The Landauers, who he has had a note of introduction to since leaving England. He decides to introduce himself to the family, and ends up dating one of the Landauer girls, who shares his love of the cinema. The family own a major department store, and the father gives Isherwood a grand tour of the shops within it. The head of the family (and business) Bernard, was reluctant to help the Communists in the doomed Spartakist uprisings, and his reluctance to participate in the campaigns of the Left is seen as very telling on what would happen to the Jews later. Their pacifism, and reluctance to help combat what was going
wrong around them would lead to the horrors of the Holocaust later. This
story is
set before the departure of Sally Bowles, who also features in this story. She upsets the dinner
party she attends with the family by making Anti-Semitic remarks, and talking of pornography. The meeting with Sally creates friction between Isherwood and Natalie, and their relationship slowly sours. Bernard, however continues to be a friend, and invites Isherwood to his English style cottage in the German countryside, but the author feels out of place in the rich man’s circle of friends. (This is set at the time when poverty had driven Isherwood to have to live with the appalling Nowak family in the preceding story in this collection). The family receive death threats in writing from anonymous Nazis, but ignore them as crank mail. The Nazis even threaten a family uncle who Te Landauers believe to be safe because he lives in Warsaw (Poland being of course invaded as World War Two erupted in earnest about the time the book went to press). Soon afterwards, Isherwood, about to leave Germany himself, learns that his friend Bernard has died. The official media reports say he died of a heart attack, but everyone suspects he was shot or sent to the now elected Nazi party concentration camps. Having discussed this, friends around Isherwood begin to tell Jewish jokes as the story ends.
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