In steel storms

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Ernst Jünger in the First World War (1918)

In Stahlgewittern is Ernst Jünger's first book. It describes Jünger's experiences on the German Western Front during World War I from December 1914 to August 1918. The book established Jünger's fame as a writer in the 1920s. In the judgment of contemporaries as well as later critics, the ambivalence of the work is reflected, which describes the war in all its brutality, but neither expressly condemns it nordealswith its political causes. It can thereforebe read affirmatively , neutrally or as an anti-war book. Far from any political or moral partisanship, Jünger's war becomes an inner experience and an experience that sharpens the participant's awareness, which leads the author to recognize the importance of the individual's energy in the struggle for survival.

The work

Edition history

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The work is based on Jünger's diary entries , which he made into a book shortly after the war. The diaries themselves, Jünger's raw material, so to speak, were only published in 2010 by the German scholar Helmuth Kiesel . In 2013, the historical-critical edition of “Stahlgewitter”, edited by Helmuth Kiesel , was published .

Since Jünger revised the text eleven times after completion (there were twelve versions of the text) and seven versions of them (including the original version) appeared (1920, 1922, 1924, 1934, 1935, 1961, 1978), the question arises as to when the steel storm can be seen as a completed work. Essentially, two interpretive approaches have been established for this:

  • One sees the first version as the most original and authoritative work for the interpretation and considers the later adaptations to be of secondary importance, since they arose in connection with the prevailing political conditions.
  • Proponents of the other approach, on the other hand, emphasize that one must include all versions in an overall interpretation of the work, as this is the only way to make clear what constitutes the creative core of the steel storm through the change .

Two revisions disciple (namely spending between 1924 and 1934) can be due to the scale and intention as particularly important the changes made using rezipieren :

  • In the 1920s, Jünger edited the work in line with the new nationalism . For example, he added the final sentence: “Even if violence from outside and barbarism from inside cluster in dark clouds - as long as the blades are still flashing and flaming in the dark, it should mean: Germany lives and Germany should not perish! ".
  • In the 1930s, Jünger radically revised this version and deleted most of the nationalist- tinged passages. In the preface to the 14th edition of August 19, 1933, he describes it as the "final version". Later adaptations concentrated more on stylistic issues, with a tendency to weaken drastic descriptions of the atrocities of war, which is probably due to the wider readership.

content

Younger hostilities describes from the perspective of a young war volunteers , who after his first, in the spring of 1915 in the Champagne can continue their education for infantry officer suffered wounds and then in the area of Arras the trench warfare acquainted. In the course of his participation in the war events of the following years (including the Battle of the Somme , Third Battle of Flanders , Battle of Cambrai , German Spring Offensive 1918 ) he developed into an experienced shock troop leader , who was mostly deployed on the front lines and was wounded several times and received high awards for bravery ( which the author mentions several times). He often finds himself in very dangerous situations, often voluntarily and apparently more driven by curiosity and a thirst for adventure than a sense of duty, which he survives with his own mixture of " phlegm ", sensory acuity and cold-blooded determination and very often with unheard-of luck.

Ernst Jünger and Heinrich Hambrock

Presentation and interpretation of events

In the steel thunderstorms , Jünger sees the war as a fateful event to which people are at the mercy of a force of nature . This is expressed in the metaphor chosen for the title and can also be substantiated by other passages in the text in which war events are referred to and described as “storms” or “ natural spectacles ”.

In terms of literary history, the work can be assigned to the new objectivity , which is in contrast to Expressionism . The cruelty of the war is presented vividly and realistically, the description remains sober. In contrast to similar works by other war participants ( e.g. in Edlef Köppen's novel Heeresbericht or Erich Maria Remarque's Nothing New in the West ), he does not question the events of the war or his own actions, but instead concentrates on the aesthetically pleasing presentation of the events and their associated feelings . The sense of killing each other is only questioned in a few places. In the foreground is a preference for the courageous and ruthless fight on the front line, which Jünger often referred to as “male”, especially for the close combat “man against man”, which he often experienced intoxicating. He was therefore repeatedly accused of aestheticizing or even glorifying war in his book. Despite unspeakable horrors and efforts and regardless (or precisely because of) the deadly seriousness, which the author in no way relativizes, the war is, according to some, “just fun”, as he expresses it particularly drastically at one point.

There are no reflections on the meaning or justification of war, rather it is accepted by the author as a natural phenomenon. Political statements, such as patriotic pathos or nationalistic justifications for the war, are not found in the book text either (at most the description of his patriotic feelings on his first home leave could be cited here). Jünger also speaks of the opposing soldiers with respect and does not show any particular preference for Germans . Only in his foreword to later editions does Jünger deal with possible programmatic interpretations of his work in a relatively vague manner (in the sense of the political intentions of the anti-republican and national circles to which the author was close during the Weimar Republic ).

Importance as a historical source

Of military historical interest are his remarks about the changes in war and combat tactics in the course of his participation in the war. Also of historical importance is the fact that the author frankly admits the hopeless situation of the German associations in the final phase of the war in view of the material and personal superiority of the enemy and the desolate supply situation of the German troops and thus indirectly to that at the time of the first publications of his work contradicts common stab-in-the-back legend .

Position in the complete works

In addition to In Stahlgewittern , Jünger published other books about his experiences during World War I in the 1920s:

Then he turned to other subjects. In contrast to the later works, with their more reflective and systematic conceptual structure, In Stahlgewittern is a structurally very simply structured, diary-like report of the author's front-line experiences, which affects the reader through the immediacy and closeness to reality of the presentation and hardly contains any overarching reflections.

In Feuer und Blut (1925) and Das Wäldchen 125 (1925), Jünger picks out two episodes that had already been dealt with in the steel thunderstorms, which he describes in more detail. Both books deal with the disillusionment of the enthusiasm for war of 1914. If the senselessness of war was already recognizable in the steel thunderstorms, it now becomes the focus of the presentation. The respective events are neither of strategic nor even decisive importance for the war, rather they are defeats for the German side, even though the fight is carried out with the greatest material and human effort. It is this combination of commitment and defeat that for Jünger makes up the intrinsic logic of war.

Quotes

“Some are with hobby zeal. (...) One time they might cut a narrow alley into the obstacle in front of their post to lure a scout who is delighted with this comfortable passage in front of their shotgun, another time they sneak over there and tie a bell to the wire on which they are attached pulling a long thread from your own ditch to excite the English guards. They just enjoy the war. "

- (pp. 54–55)

“He was hardly upstairs when a bullet fired from the sap struck straight through his skull (...). He was married and had four children. His comrades lurked behind the loopholes for a long time to take blood revenge. (...) You seemed to see a personal enemy in the Englishman who fired the deadly projectile. "

- (pp. 61–62)

“During the war I always endeavored to look at the enemy without hatred and to appreciate him as a man according to his courage. I tried to find him in battle to kill him, and I didn't expect anything else from him. (...) If I later came into my hands with prisoners, I felt responsible for their safety (...). "

- (p. 65)

“We spent Christmas Eve in position, standing in the mud, singing Christmas carols, but the English drowned them out with machine guns. (...) Immediately afterwards the English tried to be on friendly terms by putting a Christmas tree on their parapet, which, however, was swept down with a few shots by our embittered people (...) "

- (p. 66)

"After all, weak people with heart are better than strong cowards ..."

- (p. 134)

“The villages we passed through on the approach had taken on the appearance of great madhouses. Entire companies knocked down and tore down walls or sat on the roofs and smashed the tiles. (...) For the first time I saw the planned destruction here, which I was to face ad nauseam later in life; it is ominously linked to the economic thinking of our epoch, also brings the destroyer more harm than good and the soldier no honor. "

- (pp. 144–145)

"Somehow, even the very simple mind imposes the impression that his life is connected to an eternal cycle and that the death of the individual is not such a significant event."

- (p. 157)

"In war you learn thoroughly, but the tuition is expensive"

- (p. 192)

"His Majesty the Emperor has awarded you the Pour le mérite order."

- (p. 324)

expenditure

  • Ernst Jünger: In steel thunderstorms. A war diary . Mittler & Sohn, 14th edition, Berlin 1934 with Jünger's preface from December 1919 and August 1933
  • Ernst Jünger: Complete Works . 18 volumes, Volume 1: The First World War. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1979 f., ISBN 978-3-608-93471-7 . The edition incorrectly states that it is the text of the first edition in 1920, in fact it is the text of the seventh or last edition from 1978.
  • Ernst Jünger: In steel thunderstorms . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-608-96070-9 . Also text from the seventh edition 1978.
  • Ernst Jünger: In steel thunderstorms . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-608-93946-0 . Historical-critical edition with texts from all editions.
Adversaries

The steel thunderstorms are based on Jünger's raw notes, which were published under the title War Diary 1914–1918 .

Translations

  • Bajo la tormenta de acero , translation into Spanish by Julio A. López, Biblioteca del Suboficial 15, Círculo Militar, Buenos Aires 1922.
  • The Storm of Steel , translation into English by Basil Creighton, Chatto & Windus , London 1929.
  • Orages d'acier. Souvenirs du front de France (1914–1918) , translation into French by F. Grenier, Payot, Paris 1930.
  • Tempestades de acero , translation into Spanish by Mario Verdaguer, Iberia, Barcelona 1930.
  • Książę piechoty. W nawałnicy żelaza , translation into Polish by J. Gaładyk, Warszawa 1935.
  • Prin furtuni de oţel , translation into Romanian by Victor Timeu, 1935.
  • Orages d'acier. Journal de guerre , translation into French by Henri Plard , Plon, Paris 1960.
  • Tempeste d'acciaio , translation into Italian by Giorgio Zampaglione, Edizioni del Borghese, Roma 1961.
  • Nelle tempeste d'acciaio , translation into Italian by Giorgio Zampaglione, Collana Biblioteca della Fenice, Parma, Guanda, 1990.
  • Tempeste d'acciaio , translation into Italian by Gisela Jaager-Grassi, Collezione Biblioteca n.94, Pordenone, Edizioni Studio Tesi, 1990.
  • I stålstormer , translation into Norwegian by Pål Norheim and Jon-Alfred Smith, Tiden norsk förlag, Oslo 1997; 2010 as I en storm av stål: Dagbok fra Vestfronten 1915–1918 , Vega Forlag, Oslo 2010.
  • W stalowych burzach , translation into Polish by Wojciech Kunicki, Warszawa 1999.
  • В стальных грозах , translation into Russian by Н. О. Гучинская, В. Г. Ноткина, Владимир Даль, СПб. 2000.
  • Oorlogsroes , translation into Dutch by Nelleke van Maaren, De Arbeiderspers , Amsterdam 2002.
  • Storm of Steel , translation into English by Michael Hofmann , Penguin Books , London 2003.
  • Teräsmyrskyssä , translation into Finnish by Markus Lång, Ajatus Kirjat, Helsinki 2008.
  • I stålstormen , translation into Swedish by Urban Lindström, Bokförlaget Atlantis , Stockholm 2008.
  • Tempestades de aco , translation into Portuguese by Marcelo Backes, Cosac & Naify, São Paulo, 2013.
  • I stålstormen . Translation into Danish by Adam Paulsen and Henrik Rundqvist, Gyldendal , Copenhagen 2014.
  • Plieno audrose , translation into Lithuanian by Laurynas Katkus, Kitos knygos, Vilnius 2016.
  • Çelik fırtınalarında . Translation into Turkish by Tevfik Turan, Jaguar Kitap, Istanbul 2019.

literature

  • Karl-Heinz Bohrer: The Aesthetics of Terror. The pessimistic romanticism and Ernst Jünger's early work . Munich / Vienna 1978.
  • Nils Fabiansson: The companion book to Ernst Jünger: “In Stahlgewittern” . Mittler ES + Sohn, Berlin 2010.
  • Helmuth Kiesel / Ernst Jünger: In steel thunderstorms. Historical-critical edition. 2 volumes. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-608-93946-0 .
  • Niels Penke: Ernst Jünger and the North. A staging story . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-8253-6068-9 . Dissertation, Göttingen 2011.
  • Hartmut Sommer: The indestructible in the spiritual - Ernst Jünger: The grove 125 near Arras and the “marble cliffs” on Lake Constance . In: Revolte und Waldgang - The poet philosophers of the 20th century . Lambert Schneider, Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-650-22170-4 .
  • Joseph Peter Stern: "Ernst Jünger's Inter-War." “Those who live in the old house of language”: Contributions to language thinking in literary history , pp. 465–481. Edited by Eckehard Czucka. Aschendorff, Münster 1991. ISBN 3-402-04628-8 .
  • Klaus Theweleit : Male fantasies. 2 volumes, Stroemfeld / Roter Stern, Basel / Frankfurt am Main 1977 and 1978, ISBN 3-87877-111-8 .
  • Johannes Volmert: Ernst Jünger: “In steel thunderstorms”. Text and story. Uni-Taschenbücher, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7705-2174-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Steffen Martus: Ernst Jünger . Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, p. 18 f.
  2. ↑ Ernst Jünger: War Diaries 1914–1918 . Edited and commented by Helmuth Kiesel. Klett-Cotta-Verlag 2010, ISBN 978-3-608-93843-2 .
  3. ↑ Julia Encke: Sensational new edition: Jünger's whole steel storm . In: FAZ . August 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ Ernst Jünger: In steel thunderstorms . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-608-93946-0 , p. 9.
  5. ↑ Ernst Jünger: In steel thunderstorms. A war diary . Mittler & Sohn, 14th edition, Berlin 1934, page IV.
  6. ↑ Steffen Martus: Ernst Jünger . Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, p. 22, there also further references.
  7. ↑ Ernst Jünger: Complete Works . Volume 1, p. 68.
  8. ↑ Ernst Jünger: Complete Works . Volume 1, p. 85.
  9. ↑ Ernst Jünger: Complete Works . Volume 1, p. 55.
  10. ↑ Helmuth Kiesel (Ed.): Ernst Jünger: War Diary 1914–1918. Klett-Cotta Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-608-93843-2 .
  11. ↑ Hubert Spiegel: The stenographer of death. Book review of War Diary 1914–1918 . Germany radio. December 19, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  12. ↑ Review: Julia Encke: Sensational new edition. Jünger's whole steel storm . In: FAZ.net . August 10, 2013.
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Beck: Niels Penke: Ernst Jünger and the North - A story of staging . Edition 01/2014. Review.