A Woman in Berlin

For much of the memoir, the widow is the closest person to a friend to Marta. The two occupy the same building and the same bomb shelter, and Marta comes to rely on the widow when her attic apartment is bombed, and Marta has nowhere else to go. The widow welcomes Marta into her home and allows her to stay; they split the food and cleaning duties, doing what they can to support one another.

The widow herself is notably bourgeois. Before the war, she lived a comfortable lifestyle, so the restrictions of wartime are sometimes difficult for her. She values good manners and valuable possessions, and at one point, she searches long and hard for a particular item of jewelry which was left to her by her late husband. Despite her prim and proper attitude, the widow understands the realities of sex; for example, when she is raped by a young man in a stair well, she later worries that she has caught a venereal disease. The widow talks frankly about her concerns with Marta, demonstrating that the situation in which they find themselves is more important than her pre-war ideas of manners and polite society.

The widow is also understanding when Marta enters into different sexual relationships. She can comprehend why Marta might sleep with someone like Anatol or the major, and she takes advantage of Marta’s relationships, eating the food and drinking the alcohol that Marta’s men bring. The widow also appreciates the protection which an officer’s presence provides. 

Petka is a Russian soldier who rapes Marta and then falls in love with her. Because Marta does not feel the same way, his love transforms into hate; he returns to Marta’s building numerous times, drunk and angry, and makes a violent scene on each occasion. Petka’s relationship to Marta demonstrates the levels of authority within the Russian army and how these levels connect to the mass rapes of German women. During his first night with Marta, he overpowers Marta, taking advantage of her with his size. Because Petka is a big man, Marta fears he will hurt her. She goes to bed with him partly out of this fear, a decision he interprets as acceptance and mutual interest.

When Marta becomes associated with Anatol and the major, she becomes taboo to Petka because no other Russian soldier is allowed to touch her. As a result, the lowly Petka finds that the woman with whom he has fallen in love is now forbidden to him. Petka rages constantly but he can do nothing to win Marta back so his love turns to rage and spite. 

When Marta meets Lieutenant Anatol, she quickly formulates a plan that makes the most of his potential to help her. Anatol is a high-ranking, well-respected man, and his men fear him and obey him. Marta realizes that if she can associate herself with him, the connection will protect her from the sporadic rapes which affect every woman in the city. As such, Marta enters into a strange relationship with Anatol. She sleeps with him in exchange for food and protection, and this protection extends to the others in her building. The widow’s home becomes an unofficial meeting place for Anatol’s men, and they share their food and drink with the women. Anatol’s character is not complicated. A tough Ukrainian man, he has little time for politics or literature. When his men discuss such matters with Marta, he loses interest in the conversation and wanders off. When Marta tries to talk in metaphors or allegories with him, he assumes that she is simply making a linguistic error. For example, Marta once refers to him as a bear, and he corrects her like he would a child, informing her that he is, in fact, human. In this respect, Anatol is a simple and literal man who thrives on physical jobs like farm work or military responsibilities. Anatol is a simple man in a complicated world, so he views his relationship with Marta in purely commodified terms. Their relationship is an exchange of goods and services. Anatol is not presented as good or evil; instead, Marta presents him to the reader as the embodiment of the chaos that has fallen on Berlin at the end of the war. 

The Major is an older man, and because he is not a committed Bolshevik or Marxist, the Major finds himself in a strange situation. He is very attracted to Marta and wishes to sleep with her, but instead of using violence to rape Marta, the Major seems to want to seduce Marta. While he never quite receives her consent, he treats Marta better than most soldiers treat the women they use. He speaks to her with respect, treats her almost kindly, and gives her gifts and supplies to keep himself in her good favor. The Major is also open about himself, telling Marta his real name and talking about his past. He is an emotionally honest man, even if he does not grasp the complexity of the situation in which he and Marta find themselves.

The Major brings Marta a bicycle, providing her with one of her few joyous moments, and he facilitates many other high points in Marta’s life through the food he brings and the company he provides. Despite this truth, the Major is primarily concerned with sexual pleasure, and he feels that his pattern of seduction separates him from the men raping women in alleys. The Major might present himself as different to the men under his command, but his actions are actually very similar. Though he is far from a good man, the Major is perhaps one of Marta’s most favored Russians. She appreciates his tact and, when he leaves, she sheds a tear.