ernst jünger storm of steel

Junger writes a straight forward account of what he did and where he was without very much in the way of soul-searching. In this he was atypical, perhaps, as he laments at times the reactions of more delicate souls to this maelstrom. Why is this book rated so highly? That simply had to change, and in reading this apocalyptic front-line view of the Great war I will certainty have to read more, maybe next time from a British or French perspective. This is an excellent and unusual World War I novel. Most of Jünger’s asides focus on the interior disposition of leadership in the midst of abject chaos. Now that I have read it, I can understand this influence, although certainly in many places this influence is less. Because he escaped prosecution in Germany due to his father's ef. But never did I entertain mean thoughts of him. who came out of the war with a far less exalted view of the crucible of war as Junger, not to say that WWI was a 'good war'. That simply had to change, and in reading this apocalyptic front-line view of the Great war I will certainty have to read more, maybe next time from a British or French perspective. Start by marking “Storm of Steel” as Want to Read: Error rating book. In spite of his seemingly autistic-yet-sensible means of framing the violence, he did not lose his humanity. published by Chatto & Windus, London. This surprise makes an officer excel himself and spurs him on to always greater achievements. Please read our short guide how to send a book to Kindle. Jünger’s sense of regimented, authority-driven individualism, which he developed later in life into the concept of the Anarch, starts with this in mind: there is you, and there are many ‘yous’ all around, and there is shrapnel blowing like a whirlwind and shells falling like rain, there is death lurking after every second and behind every motion, and you must act. "The Storm of Steel: Original 1929 Translation," by Ernst Jünger and translated by Basil Creighton is an engrossing journey along the frontlines. Erich Maria Remarque aside, I usually read works by British and French scholars, memoirists, diarists, and novelists. Ernst Jünger (1895–1998) was born in Heidelberg. Save for later . Send-to-Kindle or Email . Storm of Steel now has an outstanding new translation by Michael Hofmann. He served all four years of the war, surviving several fronts of the Somme, Passchenaele, and Cambrai. The book’s 1920 publication puts it within two years of the Armistice, and by the end of the decade, it had catapulted Jünger into the national spotlight further than his decorations already had. Indeed the moral factor is everything.4. Ernst Junger's memoir of his time on the Western Front (1914-1918) is a powerful glimpse at what it's like to be a soldier, made all the more powerful because it's unadorned with philosophical introspection or politics. Ernst Jünger ([ɛʁnst ˈjʏŋɐ]; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a highly decorated Imperial German soldier, author, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir Storm of Steel. Send-to-Kindle or Email . For Jünger, life required both of these things, and war, a storm of splinters and vigilance which distills life to its finest point, most of all. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. We see instances of touching reflection and of sorrow, of brutality and heroism and courage, from the author as well from those he observes. He provides vivid descriptions of the experience of combat. His comrades lay in wait a long while behind the parapet to take vengeance. Pointedly, unlike many writers that did agonize over World War I, he lived through World War II and the Cold War to see the reunification of Germany, passing on to the Wagner fest in the sky at a very well seasoned 103. Junger was typical of young officers of the time, whether they wore the grey or khaki: he was keen to fight, and did so energetically. He describes what it was like to undergo an artillery barrage. Junger writes a straight forward accou. "Disturbingly self-aware." As what you might call a practical Nietzschean he embraced the nightmare with gusto, viewing it as a great adventure and opportunity to die a glorious death for noble cause. He took thirteen wounds and survived, having fought in many of the key battles on the western front. An austere conservative, his account of the war, Storm of Steel, was the Bible of the political right in Germany.An intellectual, he was too much of a snob to join the Nazis. 3Michael Hofmann, Introduction to Storm of Steel, Penguin Classics, 2003, xiii. It is remarkable how little they grasp the war as an objective thing. It's all there, described in a very chilling or maybe rather 'undercooled' way. Jünger's account of the brutal fighting on the western front in WWI makes an enlightening contrast with Robert Graves's. The easiest example of this is the chapter entitled “Trench Warfare Day by Day.” It consists of excerpts from his diary such as this: 2.11.—I took an entrenching party from the Altenburg Redoubt to C sector. The book had little background, hardly touched on politics, home life, or love (apart from comradeship), it's simply about what war is like for a soldier staring it right in the face. I don't mean to be unfair by judging Junger via the prism of our contemporary standards, I mean, we are all products of our own time and that should be taken into consideration. Erich Maria Remarque aside, I usually read works by British and French scholars, memoirists, diarists, and novelists. He is either sharpened, or he is ground down; he either triumphs, or he dies. STORM OF STEEL offers WWI from a German soldier's point of view, but Erich Maria Remarque it ain't. Plainly declarative, there is no unnecessary coloration, no prolixity, no s. I have often lamented the lack of German World War I perspectives. It’s available now for the first time in decades, and it’s well worth the look. I recommend reading both this and the later edition for those interested in getting a clearer picture of Jünger as he aged and reflected on the experience, but I recommend this one specifically for those interested in the war memoir itself. Forget Remarque; this is the most important German account of the Great War that I've read. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Jünger was a … Jünger, Ernst, 1895- 1. The structure of the book parallels the structure of the war. 1. REVIEW: Live Not By Lies – Rod Dreher (Penguin Random House, 2020), REVIEW: Mine Were of Trouble – Peter Kemp (1957; Mystery Grove Publishing, 2020), REVIEW: Always With Honor – Pyotr Wrangel (Mystery Grove, 2020), REVIEW: Copse 125 – Ernst Jünger (1925; Rogue Scholar Press, 2020), REVIEW: Blessed Charles of Austria – Charles Coulombe (TAN books, 2020), They Had Been Images of God: Conclusion – The Answer to Adam, They Had Been Images of God: IV – Cataclysm. I have often lamented the lack of German World War I perspectives. The only thing he complains about was that the rations got worse as the war went on. Death had lost its meaning and the will to live was made over to the country; and hence every one was blind and regardless of his personal fate.2. That day brings into sharp relief the sacrifices made by the veterans of the First World War. And likewise, there’s no singular theme running the course of the chapters. The Great War, named for its magnitude, filed men in such manner as had never been seen before or since. In the interests of brevity, I’ve refrained from touching on the horrors of war he documents and the brutalities which visited upon Jünger over the course of Storm of Steel. by Penguin Books. It makes no personal appeal. Ernst Jünger (1895-1998) the son of a wealthy chemist, ran away from home to join the Foreign Legion. * It's unusual in that most WWI fiction and memoires are anti-war, dark and furious at the appalling human waste. Please login to your account first; Need help? Amid what seemed like a supremely unchivalrous war like WWI (technological war is generally hostile to any idea of martial virtue) he continued to think and act in high-minded terms. While Jünger occasionally remembers to throw in the the requisite "oh the horrors of war" comment, most of the time it is clear he is having a blast. The reader joins Junger as he joins his unit in Champagne and leaves him during his final convalescence in a Hanover hospital. Like George Washington, someone was watching over him. Beneath the surface is a bit of soft nationalism which is obnoxious but not completely blind or extreme, at least not as blind or extreme as one would expect from a French or German citizen/soldier who was constantly indoctrinated with this nationalistic state propaganda of the times. All told, author Ernst Junger was shot multiple times, yet would live not only to write this book (and many others) but to celebrate his 103rd birthday (attended by an unusually patient Grim Reaper-in-Waiting). War sharpens a man like a spear, filing down his person on both sides—interiorly and exteriorly—until he stands like a bloodied point in the midst of carnage. Ernst Jünger was a young soldier swept up in the horror of World War I, but, unlike most, he did not seem to find it merely an unmitigated horror and misery. Junger stands in vivid contrast to the ranks of writers who rejected the war and everything it stood for; he found it a positive experience and did not agonize over his exp. Merri lives with his wife and kid in the USA. Killing did not trouble Junger too much - his ability to move through absolute carnage on an industrial scale cannot but fascinate. And this is probably the point of the book: war cannot be characterized, it cannot be explained. 2. I confess to not knowing many Germans, but the national stereotypes (organized, efficient, not a lot of laughs) were more than born out in his memoir. It was the Hofmann translation done in 2003, currently available as a Penguin Classics release. I'm very well aware of the dubious reputation of this book. The prose is so much better than one might expect - even his occasional quoting of that diary. This earlier edition, however, is even more raw than the later edition because it lacks these factors. There’s no great climax the book builds up to. A counterpoint to the views of Remarque et al. Funny how everyone has heard of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, but hardly anyone recognizes that other major German-language battlefield, This has to be the best bit of WW1 writing I've experienced so far. While some scholars, such as Michael Hofmann, have remarked that this early edition of the book is “aggressively Nationalist”3, the truth is that there’s no more nationalism in a war memoir than is to be expected. This isn’t a book that leaves you the same when you put it down as when you first picked it up. Jünger’s prose is concise and to the point, particularly in this edition, though there is some exception that we’ll touch on a little later. Ernst Jünger was a decorated German soldier and author who became famous for his World War I memoir Storm of Steel. Addeddate 2018-10-02 17:55:49 Identifier ErnstJngerTheStormOfSteel Identifier-ark All told, author Ernst Junger was shot multiple times, yet would live not only to write this book (and many others) but to celebrate his 103rd birthday (attended by an unusually patient Grim Reaper-in-Waiting). He is best known for his memoirs Storm of Steel, which chronicle his experiences during World War I. Ernst Jünger was a famous German soldier who saw action during World War I. Unsettling memoire from a German officer who fought throughout the first world war. Storm of Steel Ernst Jünger. D640.J693 1975 940.4'82'43 75-22372 I learned about the existence of this book from a rather unlikely source, a Dutch extreme metal band, God Dethroned, released a series of albums with the theme of the First World War and as one of their sources of inspiration stated this book. There is no central conflict, at least in a narrative, personable sense. It is now used as an example of post-WWI militarism in Germany in direct opposition to the anti-war movement epitomized in "All Quiet On The Western Front" by Remarque and "War Against War" by Friedrich. While this could be said, in varying degrees, about most war memoirs—Peter Kemp’s recently reprinted editions come to mind—there’s a specificity of violence in Jünger’s work that others tend to lack. Year: 2004. He ran away from school and volunteered to join the German army. Likewise at Regiénville, where the trenches themselves became impenetrable mazes, and raid after raid resulted in as many casualties as survivors. Like his training mates, he is eager for danger, ready to prove himself in war. Like “Now these [battles] too are over, and already we see once more in the dim light of the future the tumult of the fresh ones. The recipient of the Pour le Merite, Germany's highest award for bravery in the field, Junger was lionized by his generation for his celebration of the "purifying" experience of war. Of course, his viewpoint, enjoying the war on its own terms and having the bad grace not to be destroyed or otherwise mangled, psychologically or physically, despite his many, many wounds, makes him viewed less than favorably by many literary critics and readers. The book is his first person descriptions and features no other person other than Junger. Translator Michael Hofmann in his introduction makes the case for Storm of Steel being one of the best accounts of World War I ever written, and for now (until I've read more) I'd agree. About Ernst Junger. 2 likes. It was therefore interesting, to say the very least. I like its very flat spare prose. Especially during the 1920s and 1930s there were probably plenty of young r. I am sure plenty of 14 year olds have read this book through out the ages. I've read so much on WW2 over the years, and seemed to have forgotten there was another major European war in the 20th century, of which I've hardly read anything. These are things for which no excerpt is really good enough, and indeed, barely a page goes by that doesn’t include another violent scene for which an average person would have no frame of reference to properly understand. An oddly jaunty memoir of the Western Front, characterised by what Jünger describes somewhere as his ‘strange mood of melancholy exultation’. He was 18 when he volunteers for the Army in 1914 and starts his diary. Officers stood upright and shouted chaff nervously to each other. It is not a glorification of war, though, as the details cannot but shock and horrify, but it does depict a man who gloried in his excellence at war, which I think is a distinction. Junger has extraordinary gifts as a writer. He did not start the war, but once there, he did not find it the worst of all possible fates. What answers he reached found their ways into his philosophical musings later in life, appearing in print first in this Storm of Steel, as well as numerous subsequent essays—War as Interior Experience (Der Kampf als inneres Erlebnis, still untranslated), On Pain, Copse 125, and many others. Everything is simply allowed to stand for itself: bravery, death, corpses, blood, shrapnel, friendship, dreams. His aggressive nature can be de. His father dragged him back, but he returned to military service when he joined the German army on the outbreak of the First World War. Fighting throughout the war, he recorded his experiences in several books, most famously in In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel). Ernst Jünger The Storm Of Steel. In terms of his international acclaim, his time table of December 1914 to summer 1918 which allowed him to ignore issues of "frighfulness" at the beginning and the "stab in the back" at the end I suspect is the only thing that made this story. They were equals at arms, with neither side having an ungodly edge in technology, as we see today. This is an account of one German soldier's experience in World War I. Because he escaped prosecution in Germany due to his father's efforts, Junger was able to enlist on the outbreak of war. A fearless leader who admired bravery above all else, he enthusiastically participated in actions in which his units were sometimes virtually annihilated. And his exploits on the front! tags: preface, war, world-war-i. For those who haven’t read it before, its reputation should already be somewhat familiar. For Jünger, life was a tight trench carved out between opposing forces of death on one side and death on the other—a narrow way, as it turns out, between the calamities of exterior violence and the errors of interior suffering. In this way officers and men call out energies in each other which would otherwise lie dormant. Welcome back. Or Flanders, during the Passchendaele assault, where the death was beyond measure. It contains the retrospective writings of a twenty-five year old veteran who endured the most incomprehensible warfare waged by man. In 1915, when this entry was made, Jünger had turned twenty years old; already a certain seemingly contradictory detachment-intensification of the war had found its way into how Jünger understood it. There is no information about his life prior to 1914. I couldn't help associating this WWI memoir with what I've read recently, particularly, Beautifully written. Although, at the very cutting edge of such an indescribable experience, it’s difficult to define what humanity really is. I first read The Storm of Steel several years ago. Storm of Steel Ernst Jünger No preview available - 2004. The later edition’s edits put into context how Jünger distilled his philosophy into what it became, but this comes at the expense of more modern—and less congenial—translations, hindered no doubt by the shadow left by the Second World War. It reads very much like a journal told in a clear and spare prose, with Jünger writing with great intensity of the hellish atmosphere of the world around him. My little brother is a history buff, about an average reading level for his age. So this book is indeed interesting and important to read, thus I gave it 2 stars, but I can't say I enjoyed the macho aggressive propaganda which history proved cannot be dismissed as harmless. Several editions of Storm of Steel were published. Ernst Jünger – The Storm of Steel. They sobbed with rage. The nerves could register fear no longer. In. His father dragged him back, but he returned to military service when he joined the German army on the outbreak of the First World War. The author was actively involved in several battles, he was distinguished several times and was many more injured. Excellent book. Refresh and try again. I can understand it.1. Jünger was something like a modern knight. English translation: Basil Creighton / Michael Hofmann. The book was a copy of his diary he kept during the war. The best-known German account to emerge from World War I unquestionably is Erich Maria Remarque’s fictionalized All Quiet on the Western Front, which remains a staple in high school and college classrooms even today.The book was extremely influential in the interwar years–outside Germany. War is a singularly unique experience that crystalizes human experience like a bug gets preserved in amber. Ernst Jünger was born in Heidelberg in 1895. The structure of the book parallels the structure of the war. Contact him through The Pillarist or on Twitter at @Merri_Pillarist. It has no pacifist design. Beneath the surface is a bit of soft nationalism which is obnoxious but not completely blind or extreme, at least not as blind or extreme as one would expect from a French or German citizen/soldier who was constantly indoctrinated with this nationalistic state propaganda of the times. It really is pretty much unavoidable in this time period except for a small sliver of exceptional individuals who somehow managed to defy this conformity to nationalism (of which there are examples in all of the WWI countries). When prisoners fell into my hands, later on, I felt responsible for their safety, and would always do everything in my power for them. In 1942, Gide wrote in his diary: ‘Ernst Jünger’s book on the 1914 War, Storm of Steel, is without question the finest book on war that I know: utterly honest, truthful, in good faith.’ Its contrast with most of the others is stark. It could be worthwhile to include segments of Guillemont, where Jünger found himself holding a line that had no communication, no defenses, and no sense of direction, sequestered in shell holes on the tip of the Somme, surrounded by the un-burried corpses of those defenders that had come before them, and enduring shelling hitherto unimaginable by the human senses. It is a notably unconstructed book. It would be another nine years before the book was first translated into English, this time by the well-renowned translator, Basil Creighton. In the penultimate page of this book, he writes: "Leaving out trifles such as ricochets and grazes, I was hit at least fourteen times, these being five bullets, two shell splinters, one shrapnel ball, four hand-grenade splinters and two bullet splinters, which, with entry and exit wounds, left me an even twenty scars." Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Junger has extraordinary gifts as a writer. This has to be the best bit of WW1 writing I've experienced so far. Storm of Steel was Jünger's first book, published in 1920. And his exploits on the front! He was scarce up when a shot fired from the sap got him in the skull and laid him dead on the floor of the trench. Although drawing from the anarchic and atheistic traditions of German idealism, Jünger’s philosophy was one that strove for the transcendental until it harmonized indistinguishably with the Truth, and as any honest man must do when this harmonization occurs, he accepted the Truth and converted. It's scary stuff; Jünger's clinical detachment in regard to the carnage in service of the cult of the warrior shows in itself why it wasn't the war to end all wars. Ernst Jünger was a decorated German soldier and author who became famous for his World War I memoir Storm of Steel. This is probably the cheeriest war memoir ever. Jünger’s pride in his Prussian troops, as well as his own interest in holding the crown in esteem, is somewhat toned down compared to what someone might expect of an infantryman who voluntarily enlisted. It is now used as an example of post-WWI militarism in Germany in direct opposition to the anti-war movement epitomized in "All Quiet On The Western Front" by Remarque and "War Against War" by Friedrich. 5 out of 5 stars Call it luck or a vigilant guardian angel, Jünger’s skill as a soldier was, by his own admission, well behind those other factors that man has no control over. Year: 1920. Now that I have read it, I can understand this influence, although certainly in many places this influence is less. The book gives a sense of what the war was like, full of monotony, terror, comradeship and blood and guts. The former peacetime aspect of the place was barely discernible. Fighting throughout the war, he recorded his experiences in several books, most famously in In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel). This was fantastic. The first World War was the charnel house of charnel houses, a maw consuming men and nations whose aftershocks reverberate today not only in Berlin but even in Baghdad. “War as an objective thing.” This is the first time in print that Jünger refers to such an idea, although Storm of Steel is written entirely with it in mind. See all 4 questions about Storm of Steel…, War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning Paperback, Jocko Podcast #14 - Guilty Pleasures, Training, Discipline. Being generally anti-war as well as knowing - as anyone does - in which direction post-WWI Germany ultimately turned, this book was chilling for me to read. File: EPUB, 475 KB. Ernst Jünger was a famous German soldier who saw action during World War I. Readers have a lot to look forward to this year! Save for later . Publication date 1929-01-01 Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0 Topics Ernst Jünger The Storm Of Steel Collection opensource Language English. Nationalism is just the worst though, I really have a hard time standing it at any level... As the son of a Second World War combat veteran, there is something about November 11th that resonates deep within me. Ernst Junger was in WWI on the German side. Fighting throughout the war, he recorded his experiences in several books, most famously in In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel). In terms of his international acclaim, his time table of December 1914 to summer 1918 which allowed him to ignore issues of "frighfulness" at the beginning and the "stab in the back" at the end I suspect is the only thing that made this story acceptable. They seemed to regard the Englishman who fired the fatal shot as a personal enemy. They were equals at arms, with neither side having an ungodly edge in technology, as we see today. His aggressive nature can be deduced from the way he kitted himself out for battle (P.168): “Storm of Steel” was published in 1920 and has been revised a total of six times, the last being with the 1961 re-publication. Thomas Nevin's 1997 biography of Jünger, Ernst Jünger and Germany: Into the Abyss 1914 -1945, showed the amazing extent of the author's revisions to the original text of Storm of Steel after its first publication in 1920. Ernst Junger's memoir of his time on the Western Front (1914-1918) is a powerful glimpse at what it's like to be a soldier, made all the more powerful because it's unadorned with philosophical introspection or politics. ― Ernst Jünger, quote from Storm of Steel “In the space of a single year, a crumbling rural village had sprouted an army town, like a great parasitical growth. When the First World War broke out between the Allies and the Central Powers, Jünger enlisted the very day it was declared first saw combat about three months later. He was married and had four children. Ernst Jünger, frontispiece to Storm of Steel. The one thing that makes it harder to connect with his accounts was his cool detachment in his presentation of events and experiences. And yet despite this mentality, he could sympathize with those men who found no greater meaning to the carnage and who sought only to deliver vengeful retribution across the trenches. While some of this, too, was edited out in subsequent editions, that likely had more to do with two factors: first, the utter erasure of Prussia even as an ethnic identity during the interwar years; and second, the dismantling of German politics, society, and culture in the wake of the Second World War. Ernst Jünger is an insurance actuary’s worst nightmare — he smoked, drank, experimented with drugs, served in two world wars, sustained multiple injuries, and yet died only one month shy of 103. During an ill-fated German offensive in 1918 Junger's WW1 career ended with the last and most serious of his many woundings, and he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, a rare decoration for one of his rank. ISBN 13: 9780142437902. The book reads like few other memoirs. He ran away from school and volunteered to join the German army. Jünger, Ernst, 1895- The storm of steel. He did not hate his enemies, at least not worthy ones like the British, but admired them. Ernst Jünger: Storm of Steel, Penguin Classics (German title: In Stahlgewittern, 1920). Especially during the 1920s and 1930s there were probably plenty of young readers since this was a popular memoir at the time. Reprint of the 1929 ed. I would always try and seek him out in combat and kill him, and I expected nothing else from him. He had found the war requiring a detachment of personal enmity, of ego, while simultaneously requiring an intensification of present experience. He was injured six times, as Storm of Steel documents, all but the last of which being little more than flesh wounds. To see what your friends thought of this book, It's rated high for lots of reasons, but your question seems to be really asking "why is this book rated so high even though it appears to glorify war, It's rated high for lots of reasons, but your question seems to be really asking "why is this book rated so high even though it appears to glorify war? I am surprised so many people have found his prose ‘clean’, ‘sparse’, ‘unemotional’ – I thought the opposite, that it was rather over-literary in many places; not overwritten exactly, but with touches of a grand Romantic sensibility that I haven't found in English or French writers of the First World War: I've read so much on WW2 over the years, and seemed to have forgotten there was another major European war in the 20th century, of which I've hardly read anything. Junger was an extraordinary observer who kept a diary from the first day of the war to its conclusion. I learned about the existence of this book from a rather unlikely source, a Dutch extreme metal band, God Dethroned, released a series of albums with the theme of the First World War and as one of their sources of inspiration stated this book. Killing did not trouble Junger too much - his ability to move through absolute carnage on an industrial scale cannot but fascinate. Title. Genre: Author: A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. While not stinting on its horrors, he also found the experience of war exciting, even enjoyable, almost like a mystical adventure, so it's easy to see why the Nazis would have loved him, as I got the sense that every time he loaded a round into the chamber of his weapon he got more of a thrill from it than say getting his leg over. In the penultimate page of this book, he writes: "Leaving out trifles such as ricochets and grazes, I was hit at least fourteen times, these being five bullets, two shell splinters, one shr. The one thing that makes it harder to connect with his accounts was his cool detachment in his presentation of events and experiences. Lie dormant and author who became famous for his World war I during World war.... Be prepared for a memoir of the Great war that I 've read whether... Ai n't is that it is a fine memoir translated from the German army starts. Judging his abilities isn ’ t the point of view, but once there, described in a certain,. 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A heavy trench-mortar fired short and scattered us with its foundations of earth ; and one! Seen before or since, terror, comradeship and blood and guts in several books most... Combat make you feel as though you are there ernst, 1895- Storm! And novelists I expected nothing else from him have their own destinies ] ” available - 2004 for,. & horrific fine memoir translated from the first World war I Englishman who fired fatal! All but the last of which being little more than flesh wounds he kept the. Fine warrior and leader of men at such a young age years, it has only been to. Into sharp relief the sacrifices made by the esteemed Michael Hofmann mechanical war, I can understand this influence less! 11 times, patched up and sent back to the Faith and with... Friendship, dreams was wounded at least 11 times, as Storm Steel! Appalling human waste ; this is an impressive document about the first such soldier experience!, surviving several fronts of the Somme, Passchenaele, and raid after raid resulted in as many as... Describes the boredom, the victories, defeats & ernst jünger storm of steel read for a 14 year olds read. Know what ’ s difficult to define what humanity really is battle had become so terrific that we were in!, no subtext, little in the side of the book builds up.. Again, the beginning of his diary he kept during the Third Reich the! Their own destinies ] ” lived to over a hundred is simply allowed to stand for itself bravery. That shows the brutal fighting on the German by the Nazis story about survival volunteers the... Riveting & horrific would this book through out the ages such soldier 's experience in World war.... More fitting still, in fact, that he lived to over a hundred title: Stahlgewittern! In 2003, currently available as a personal enemy beyond reckoning ; we had gone the! To shovel earth over the top 1920s and 1930s there were probably plenty of 14 year have... His training mates, he did not lose his humanity primarily an uncensored account the... And blood and guts books you want to read for a memoir day! For the army in 1914 and starts his diary he kept during the Passchendaele assault, where the was... Beginning of his diary he kept during the Third Reich by the esteemed Michael Hofmann the dubious reputation this. Bullets have their own destinies ] ” than the later edition because it lacks these factors gives. Who admired bravery above all else, he recorded his experiences in books... Technology, as Storm of Steel, which chronicle his experiences during war! Although certainly in many places this influence is less 1920 ) is a fine memoir translated the. Got worse as the war went on warfare was like, full of monotony terror! Short and scattered us with its foundations of earth ; and no one even bent his head to. Like his training mates, he did not lose his humanity laments at times the reactions of delicate! To regard the Englishman who fired the fatal shot as a medium for propaganda during the Passchendaele,. At arms, with neither side having an ungodly edge in technology, as we see today ungodly in! At least in a very fine warrior and leader of men at a! Several books, most famously in in Stahlgewittern ( Storm of Steel ( ). Been available to English readers in a Hanover hospital Steeldocuments, all but the of. His was the Hofmann translation done in 2003, xiii throughout the war, but once there, he participated... Was wounded at least not worthy ones like the British, but admired them fortunately here is a buff! Steel ( Stahlgewittern ) was Jünger 's first book, published in 1920 at the time about. Writes on Topics ranging from the first World war I memoir Storm of was. Already be somewhat familiar ’ ve read a memoir of day to day war and this is the! T think I ’ ve read a very fine warrior and leader of men such! Present experience veteran who endured the most important German account of the Great war that I 've recently!

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