World War I

1. German Artists as War Veterans in World War I

As most Germans ran away from the war, artists participated in the war, in order to be able to capture different images. Most artists such as Dix, were on the front line, during the First World War, in order to make sure that the country regained what it thought was rightfully its own (Jonathan, 58). Most artists participated in the war, and consequently showed the world, the art of patriotism because of the love of art since they were artists. Most artists such as Ernst Ludwig joined the army in the year 1914, but was not however able to continue with the work, due to mental collapse. While in the battlefield Dix could not feel any form of guilt, and he consequently carried on with his work as a soldier. He met a lot of corpses while walking on the battlefield, but this did not in any way affect him. He kept the memories of what he saw on his mind, thus making him not to forget.

After returning home from the war, Dix suffered posttraumatic disorders, as he could be able to clearly see the images of the dead soldiers. This consequently affected him, since he had not experienced such things while in the battlefield (Jonathan, 58). In order to be able to control this, Dix resulted into painting whatever images came into his mind. Through the use of those images, Dix was able to show the world what was actually happening in the battlefield, and how the life in the battlefield really is. For instance, Dix painted an image of a skull with its helmet still on the head, with no eyes, but surrounded by a lot of maggots. This consequently shows how the battlefield was, with dead bodies being separated from other parts of the body being scattered all over the battlefield.

In a different image, Dix has painted soldiers wearing gasmasks while advancing under a gas attack. This consequently shows what the soldiers used to do while in the battlefield. The soldiers seem to be celebrating after winning a battle against some of their enemies. There is also an image whereby the soldiers are inside a whole which looks like a tarvan, and they are slaying people using their swords (Jonathan, 60). While other soldiers are slaying the people, others are busy drinking some liquid looks like alcohol. This is an image which seeks to explain what soldiers did while in the battlefield, which included killing innocent people and destroying property.

1. Comparison between Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Ernst Juenger’s Storm of Steel

Erich Maria’s All Quiet on the Western Front, talks about the war and how the soldiers feel before and after joining the army. Paul, who is a soldier in the Western front, was impressed before the joining the army, as one of their lecturers talked about being patriotic as a soldier. Paul together with his classmates joined the army, knowing that they would be patriotic citizens to serve their country (Remarque, 56). After being recruited into the army, Paul together with his friends realized how bad joining the army was. This was after falling into the hands of Corporal Himelstoss, who was very cruel. After being deployed to fight, Paul together with his classmates in the front realized how bad it was for them to have joined the army. They consequently met dead people, and most of the front members lost their lives during the war. Paul realized he had made the worst decision, since he could feel the guilt of killing other people. People who looked very innocent to him. At one time Paul stabbed a French soldier with a knife, and he later on came to realize that the soldier had a son and a wife, he could not help but feel guilty. This consequently made him to hate making the decision of being a soldier.

Ernst Juenger’s Storm of Steel, consequently speaks about what soldiers see and how they feel while in the battle field. According to Juenger, while in the battle field, he could not be able to feel any form of sympathy, and he would consequently kill the enemies without feeling guilty at all. As opposed to Paul’s feeling of guilt in the All Quiet on the Western Front, Juenger could not feel guilty, a move which motivated him to continue killing his enemies. As Juenger states, he felt nothing such as guilty, and he would continue killing all the enemies, since he could not be able to feel guilty over someone who could also kill him (Jünger & Michael, 23). Juenger does not understand how his heart used to change, hence becoming very courageous to easily kill without the fear of feeling guilty or being haunted later. Juenger consequently enjoyed his work as a soldier, and he did not see anything bad with being a soldier.

1. Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms

Hemingway reacts to the war negatively, stating that the war is nothing better than dark, homicidal extensions of a world which has refused to protect, preserve and protect true love. People are only concerned with their self-interests, and they will consequently do anything in order to better their interests (Ernest, 84). The world has consequently been divided by hate and greed, which seems better than love, hence making people to kill in order to be perceived as better compared to others. The world has been turned into a battlefield where the poor are killed while the rich who started the war are enjoying themselves, making others to suffer for their own interests. Greed has consequently taken over the world, love has been turned into hate, and no one wants to love, since love leads to poverty, and hatred makes people rich. Everybody is now running in order to get his own share of wealth in the war, through causing deaths.

The theme of love in the time of war is ironic, whereby Catherine seduces Henry, even before tell him that she is mourning the death her fiancé’. Catherine tries to distance herself from pain and suffering through entering into a relationship with Henry, even at a time when she is supposed to be mourning the death of her fiancé’.  On the other hand, Henry also wants to distance himself from the talk of the war, through getting into a relationship with Catherine at such a time. This is very funny, since Catherine is supposed to be thinking about her future now that her fiancé’ is dead, but she decides to seduce Henry (Ernest, 85). Henry, who is a soldier, also supposed to think about the ways through which they can be able to end the war, other than focusing on a relationship, rather than protecting the lives of other people. This theme consequently depicts the real behavior of human beings, as they are only concerned with their interests, and satisfying their heart desires. The two love birds, are only concerned with their relationship, instead of looking for possible ways of saving the country from the attack. When Henry realizes how much he loves Catherine, he decides to flee from the country in pursuit of Catherine, at the expense of innocent people who depend on soldiers such as Henry for protection.

1. The Rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism

After the end of First World War, Adolf Hitler was against the Weimlar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler was not in good terms with the current government, as it had allowed other countries, through signing the treaty of Versailles, to take large tracks of land from Germany. This were the things which Hitler considered as betrayal from their ruling party. In the year 1919, Hitler joined Deutsche Arbeiterpartei party (DAP). The party later changed its name to Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), which meant the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, and was usually referred to as the Nazi Party (Rinderle & Bernard, 35). The party consequently advocated for nationalism and Pan-Germanism. During this period, most Germans were not impressed by the government’s action of signing the treaty of Versailles, hence leading to the loss of their land.

Hitler’s rise consequently ended in the year 1933 after he was appointed as a Chancellor by President Paul Von Hindenburg after a sequence of parliamentary elections. In the same year, the Reichstag implemented the Enabling Act of the year 1933 (Rinderle & Bernard, 35). When this act was used in the wrong way and with total authority, it could become ruthless. The act consequently assured Hitler he could be able to exercise dictatorship without any problems, since it was legal as stipulated in the act. Hitler consequently blackmailed other party members to make him the party leader, since he was a good speaker, failure to which he would exit the party and would never return.

Most party members offered Hitler support, since he had decided to use violence against the ruling party. In the year 1930, through Hitler’s proper use of his tongue, he was able to convince most electorates to support the party, thus making the party to become the largest party in Germany (Rinderle & Bernard, 37). Hitler’s used his gift of speaking as a means of lying to the electorates, through his cunning ways of speaking, he was able to attract most supporters, thus making the party to be very popular. After getting into power, the Nazis described that period as the time of struggle. Adolf Hitler consequently viewed other countries as traitors, and decided to work very hard in order to be able to revenge on the atrocities committed against the Germans. Hitler used propaganda against foreigners in the country, a move which allowed him to be able to kill the Jews in the country, and a tone of other immigrants as a means of revenge.

Personalities

1. Dhimmitude: A term used to refer to non-Muslims living in an Islamic country
2. Allenby: British soldier and Imperial Governor.
3. Chaim Weitzman: former Israeli president and a Zionist leader.
4. “stab in the back”: it was a legend which was used by the Nazis when defeated.
5. David Lloyd George: A British statesman who became the prime minister during the First World War.

Work Cited

Jünger, Ernst, and Michael Hofmann. Storm of Steel. , 2016. Print.

Remarque, Erich M, and A W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel. , 2013. Internet resource.

Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2012.

Rinderle, Walter, and Bernard Norling. The Nazi Impact on a German Village. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1993. Internet resource.

Jonathan, Jones. The First World War in German art: Otto Dix’s first-hand Visions of Horror: The Gurdian. 2014. Print.