A Woman in Berlin

“It’s true: the war is rolling towards Berlin.”

In this quote, the uses of “rolling” as a verb suggests that war is purposeful and difficult to stop. By beginning the diary with the phrase “it’s true,” the narrator asserts that her story is factual; the tragedy and the horror of her situation are not fiction. Right from the opening line, Marta seeks to remind her readers that everything that they are about to read is terrifyingly true. 

“The horizon has shrunk to three hundred paces.”

Enemies surround Berlin and bombing raids take place nightly, and Marta’s experience with the war becomes much more immediate. Once, she dreamed of holidays abroad and tours of the world, but now, it is impossible for her to conceive of a journey more than a few minutes away. The horizon looms ever closer and the Berlin residents face a reckoning; she cannot imagine anything outside of this small and desperate world.

“We are debasing our language in expectation of the impending humiliation.”

This quote illustrates the relationship between nationalism and language. As the Russians close in, the inhabitants of the shelter begin to curse and use profane language, losing their ability to remain nationalistic and pro-German. They debase their language by using coarse words, revealing their diminishing national pride.