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Peter Wilkinson
Otto is Christopher’s fellow boarder on Ruegen Island. Otto has a transactional relationship with Peter, but he also has many other admirers. He is a teenaged boy when Christopher meets him. He loves to go out dancing and meet girls. After their time on Ruegen Island, Christopher briefly boards with Otto’s family. In their two-room apartment, Christopher witnesses the family’s frequent fights.
Otto Nowak Quotes in Goodbye to Berlin
The Goodbye to Berlin quotes below are all either spoken by Otto Nowak or refer to Otto Nowak. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4: The Nowaks Quotes
“He’s going round to his Nazis, I suppose. I often wish he’d never taken up with them at all. They put all kinds of silly ideas in his head. It makes him so restless. Since he joined them he’s been a different boy altogether… Not that I understand these politics myself.”
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“You see, Christoph… Peter hurt me very much. I thought he was my friend. And then, suddenly, he left me—all alone…”
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My mouth pressed against Erna’s hot, dry lips. I had no particular sensation of contact: all this was part of the long, rather sinister symbolic dream which I seemed to have been dreaming throughout the day. “I’m so happy, this evening…” Erna whispered.
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Get the entire Goodbye to Berlin LitChart as a printable PDF.
Otto Nowak Character Timeline in Goodbye to Berlin
The timeline below shows where the character Otto Nowak appears in Goodbye to Berlin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: On Ruegen Island, Summer 1931
...others staying in the boarding house: Peter Wilkinson, a nervous Englishman about Christopher’s age, and Otto Nowak, a teenaged, working-class German boy from Berlin.
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...Peter began to see an array of psychiatrists all around Europe. While traveling, he met Otto.
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Peter, Otto, and Christopher spend a lot of time together, with Peter and Otto having a transactional...
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...a child marching with a Nazi flag and singing a nationalist song. A doctor that Otto has befriended urges Otto, Christopher, and Peter to spend more time at the more crowded...
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One day, as Christopher, Peter, and Otto prepare to go to the beach, Peter and Otto get into a physical fight. Christopher...
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Peter and Otto continue to fight frequently. Christopher does not mind much, as he is preoccupied with his...
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One night, Otto promises Peter that he will be home by a quarter to one. He is late,...
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Despite Otto’s resolution to change, he still spends his days flirting on the beach and his nights...
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The same day that Otto leaves, Peter packs up to return to London. Peter and Christopher joke about him going...
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Chapter 4: The Nowaks
Sometime after he returns to Berlin, Christopher goes to visit Otto’s family, the Nowaks. Frau Nowak, Otto’s mother, answers the door. Christopher asks after her lungs,...
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Christopher spends his afternoons giving English lessons and his mornings with Otto. Otto tells him about his struggles within his family. He feels that his family does...
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Every night, Otto goes out dancing. He spends hours getting ready, picking out just the right outfit. Christopher...
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...on his novel, the Nowak family fights around him. As per usual, Frau Nowak criticizes Otto for not being like his more industrious brother, and they get into a massive fight....
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Frau Nowak’s health worsens, and she consults doctors. As she and Otto continue to fight, he tells Christopher that he fears he will have a nervous breakdown....
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...the doctors prescribe time in the sanatorium to Frau Nowak, Christopher leaves the Nowak household. Otto begs Christopher to take him with him as his servant. Frau Nowak begins cooking Christopher’s...
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...a way that seems unstable to Christopher, singing and laughing uncontrollably. A little while later, Otto calls on Christopher. Otto asks him to accompany him on a visit to Frau Nowak....
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When Christopher and Otto arrive at the sanatorium, Otto and Frau Nowak greet each other excitedly. Christopher notices that...
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...kisses Christopher. Christopher has the sensation that he is living in a dream. He hears Otto and Erika scuffling and giggling on the other bed. A few minutes later, the bus...
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