Hans Ostwald, "All Tables Occupied" (1920s) Hans Ostwald (1873-1940) was a writer and observer of life in Berlin from 1900 through the 1930s. In the following account, he offers an impression of Potsdamer Platz and the famous Café Josty, where all tables are occupied, regardless of the time of day, and the mixing of genders, ages and classes still came as a shock to some café patrons.