A Woman In Berlin

963 Words2 Pages

Introduction
1945 in east Berlin the red flags are raised, bombs were dropped and the Russians arrived.
A woman in Berlin is a diary written by an anonymous author from the 20th of april 1945 to 22nd June the war has reached the outskirts of Berlin and the forces of Russia are pushing through the Germans. The Russians in their drunken stupor are aggressive and have crude ideas about the woman. The author has her friends which live together in an apartment she can speak Russian, which makes her a target for help by the germans and a companion for the Russians. The author has written her diary with literary techniques to really bring the reader into her shoes. She uses a range of literary devices, of narrative point of view, characterization …show more content…

Food and water is available but protection is not, all there is are open appartments and you hope that you have a basement to hide from the bombs and the Russian soldiers. The buildings were new until the bombs were dropped, then some become rubble and all the rest standing have become safe havens until the sun has set. At that time the red armies bellies are full of vodka and they are on the prowl for women. The main themes in the A Woman in Berlin is rape, survival and protection which all tie in together. Her survival is relied on her befriending a high ranking Russian soldiers, because they have the power to stop the violation of their women. With the daily struggle to collect water and ration food because you don't know when it will all be gone. The people of east Berlin has changed the way they live and act, everyone will keep their belongings close and secure. Food and coal are to be protected at all cost, as water can be obtained through the well but the journey can be risky if you go …show more content…

All of which is done by the anonymous author of A Woman in Berlin a story told by a woman of times of war and mass rape. Her journey to told from her point of view. The key themes are influenced by the setting because of the time and position she is in. making her act in certain ways to survive which ends up leading to specific language techniques being used to change the whole perspective of the reader and to sympathize her experiences. She stayed in her town throughout the book but groups of people came and went this has changed the setting many times and then the readers get to discover another side of the author we maybe didn't know

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