Re: Desinvolture

[Wahe@aol.com]

John King wrote on 25th of May:

<< The name's Juenger, Ernst Juenger. (Now, what was J's favourite drink,
 definitely not a vodka martini, shaken not stirred :-) (Let's not start on
 comets and wine again!!!) Here again, I think we should be very careful of
 taking texts such as "In Stahlgewittern" at face value. They (the various
 versions) are autobiographical re-writings of his war diaries, texts laid on
 top of texts. And let's not forget the texts which J was reading, the
 intertexts if you like of Stahlgewittern - from Loens, to Sterne, to Ariost,
 to Karl May, to Homer - and within whose heroic gambit J wanted to depict
 himself. Stahlgewittern was composed out of, I would suggest, a combination
 of the heroic plan on the one hand and the devastating memory of the war on
 the other with the hundreds of friends and comrades slaughtered in front of
 him. Thus any doubts, grief, confusion etc have been carefully edited out in
 order to conform to the public version of the public text. >>

Accepted.  I was less aiming at EJ's personal heroism but rather wether the
attitude expressed in Stahlgewitter could go for a common one of the men in
the trenches. They can't have been too occupied with personal fears all the
time, otherwise the war wouldn' t have been worked so long. Also it were
mainly young lads - generals know why they only very seldom send
forty-year-olds to the front line - they wouldn't charge. I was hoping to
provoke some response by someone familiar with other autobiographical
material. Wasn't there a remark last year somebody was into WW one material ?

Are there really reflections of EJ on Karl May or did he just slip into the
list ?
------
Another inquiry:
Does anybody know the autobiographical book by Ernst Niekisch who I think was
friends or at least acquainted with EJ in the Weimar republic time and should
 have some histoires in it and could give title, publisher etc. ?

Greetings

Walter Hedderich
Wahe@aol.com