Grimm, Reinhold and Jost Hermand (Editors). 1992. 1914/1939 German Reflections of the Two World Wars. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
The book chosen for the analysis in this paper is 1914/1939 German Reflections of the Two World Wars edited by Reinhold Grimm and Jost Hermand. It presents a set of separate works by the famous German and German-speaking authors like Hans Rudolf Vaget, Hans Peter Hermann, Reinhold Grimm, and Jost Hermand. The selection criteria for this book included the comprehensive account on the two world wars presented from the German point of view and the presence of the works by reputable authors in this book. As well, the wide range of works constituting the book also conditioned its selection as the presence of various opinions on the topic might form the objective and non-biased knowledge. Finally, this book was selected because it presents literary perspective of the world wars, while the bulk of other sources focus on the political and military aspects of the wars.
The major topic of the book under analysis is the artistic perspective of the world wars in which Germany was directly involved. In other words, the set of the nine essays collected in the book present the views and reflection of the authors upon the impact of the world wars upon the particular representatives of the German art like Berthold Brecht and Thomas Mann and on the artistic development of the nation as a whole (Grimm and Hermand, 1992, p. vii). Thus, the topic of the book is the interrelation of the war and art and the birth of the concept of the United Europe from the struggle of nations for peaceful existence.
The contents of the book can be characterized by the address to various aspects of art during the world wars, but this address is uniform in its focus on the supreme character of art. For example, Hans Rudolf Vaget pictures art as the powerful tool in fighting violence while depicting the life and artistic development of Thomas Mann in the period of the first and second world wars (Grimm and Hermand, 1992, p. 3). Depicting the famous German writer as a tin soldier in the fight against the German imperialism and aggression, Vaget manages to demonstrate the significance of art for the existence of human beings.
Further on, Grimm considers the life of the German poet and essayist Gottfried Benn before, during, and after the wars (Grimm and Hermand, 1992, p. 22), while Schoeps considers the life of Bertold Brecht during the two world wars (p. 37). Bullock presents the account of life and work of Ernst Junger (p. 70), Hermand designs the generalized account on German art during the wars (p. 91), and Silberman focuses his research on the cinema in the war-time Germany (p. 116). The book also contains the information on the women’s rights and artistic work during the war years as presented by Halle, Sokeland, and Tyson (p. 137).
Hermann further considers the topic of science and education during the wars (p. 154), while Lutzeler concludes the book with the history of development of the United Europe idea in Germany and Austria (p. 174). The book as such is concluded by the analysis of this Unity idea and the considerations concerning the impact of war and nationalist ideas upon the desire of European nations to unite, especially after the chauvinist ideas that led nations into the world wars are defeated (p. 184). Drawing from this, the book edited by Grimm and Hermand (1992) is rather an analytical work that helps in understanding the reality of the world wars rather than considering mere facts and dates about both.
Although the major focus of the book as a whole and of each essay that constitutes it in particular is the artistic life in Germany in the period of the World War I and II, the book also present a considerable amount of information about the period of the past during which the wars took place. The most interesting facts presented in the book include the reaction of the intelligence and the artists of Germany to both wars and their respective activities related to the wars. As well, authors like Vaget and Schoeps describe Brecht’s and Mann’s participation in the war, first as the “fatherland” supporters and than as the opponents of the chauvinist regime of the national socialist party. Thus, the book under consideration helps widen the knowledge on the World Wars I and II and retrieve this knowledge from the purely political context into the larger scope of social life and community and art development.
This characteristic of the book, i. e. its comprehensive focus on both precise historical data and the account of the arts development at the discussed period of time allow the reader understand the latter with the greater depth. For example, the information about the opposition that numerous German scholars and artists formed to the Hitler regime in Germany and abroad provides for the better understanding of the social picture of life in Europe of that time. The address of the book authors to the topics that were discussed almost never before also helps in the struggle with the negative stereotyping against the German nation as a whole. Understanding the context in which the world wars broke out and developed allows the reader to have the objective picture of such historic events as the World Wars I and II.
The approaches used by the authors of the nine essays constituting the book play the crucial role in this understanding of the historic events. Thus, for example Schoeps uses the approach of comprehensible and simple life description that at the same time contains numerous facts about the social life in Germany during the World War I and the viewpoint that Berthold Brecht kept to concerning the world wars (p. 38). Authors of all other essays combine this descriptive approach with the analytical considerations that make it easier for the readers to comprehend the information retrieved from the book. Depicting how Thomas Mann, Junger, Brecht, and other German artists saw the world wars, authors like Grimm, Vaget, Hermann, and Hermand, try to explain the reasons for the facts they argue about thus adding to the credibility and validity of their works.
The scholarly and artistic approaches of the authors whose works are included in the book are also manifested by the use of specific evidence to support their arguments. It is worth noting that all the nine essays can be characterized by the strong evidence support, as dealing with the issues of history the authors like Bullock, Schoeps, Silberman, and others managed to combine the elements of biographical essays and historical scholarly publications in their works. More specifically, the authors make numerous references to previous research on life and work of Thomas Mann, Berthold Brecht, and other famous German artists. Considering the development of cinema, science, and education in the war-time Germany, scholars present the milestone dates related to these areas of social life and support their ideas by citing the reputable research.
Drawing from this, reading the book by Grimm and Hermand (1992) can considerably change the opinion of the reader on the World Wars I and II and their social impact. Used to the traditionally political highlighting of the world wars’ events, the reader might be first surprised to face the artistic and community context of the topic, but with further consideration this context only widens the knowledge on the world wars’ history. The work by Grimm and Hermand (1992) changed my understanding of the topic by adding various viewpoints and contexts to it. In other words, currently I do not perceive the world wars as military conflicts only, but understand their social impact for the development of the European community and the emergence of the idea of the United Europe.
Finally, the unusual method of highlighting art and community development in the context of the world wars differs from the traditional knowledge on the subject that is presented in textbook and lectures. Instead of mere studying names, milestone dates, and events in the history of the World Wars I and II, the book by Grimm and Hermand (1992) allows getting deeper into the topic and understanding it as if from the inside thus enriching the scope of every reader.
Reference
Grimm, Reinhold and Jost Hermand (Editors). 1992. 1914/1939 German Reflections of the Two World Wars. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.