Home shot
In soldiers' jargon (especially during World War II), a shot at home is a serious injury that can only be treated at home or the physical or emotional consequences of which result in an unfit for military service and therefore retired. Such an injury should ideally be severe enough to no longer be used on the front line , but on the other hand not result in serious permanent disability .
The concept of the home shot was already widespread in the First World War . Towards the end of the war, in particular, the desire for such an injury was widespread among soldiers at the front, as a return to the family, even with long-term consequences of the injury, often seemed more desirable than the always fatal risk at the front. In the image of the heroic soldier that was cultivated during the Weimar Republic , however, this was negated - also by the front soldiers themselves, as these wishes for home shots were not considered honorable.
In many cases, soldiers also injured themselves in order to be relocated home. In this case one speaks of self-mutilation .
The topic home shot was addressed by Böll in the short story The Wounding .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Richard Bessel: The return of the soldiers. The image of the soldiers at the front in the Weimar Republic. ( Memento of September 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 501 kB) p. 235.
- ↑ Printed in: Heinrich Böll: Die Verwundung and other early stories. 3. Edition. dtv, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-423-10472-4 .