War, violence and the modern condition

More about the book

This work explores the complex relationship between modernity and violence, examining themes from the Great War to contemporary representations of warfare. It delves into the emotional landscapes of grief and mourning, highlighting how traditions persist despite modern upheavals. The text discusses various concepts of order that emerged in the chaos of No Man’s Land and traces the therapeutic responses from World War I through to National Socialism. It also addresses the economic transformations during and after the war, particularly the conservative debates surrounding an alternative modernity in Germany. The discourse on propaganda and public opinion in the 1920s is analyzed, alongside the phenomenon of Blitzkrieg and its implications for depoliticization. The fiftieth anniversary of the Allied air raids on Dresden serves as a lens for examining the intersection of literature and history. The narrative further explores fascism and sexuality in film, the impact of modern warfare on bodies and souls, and the role of German medicine during the First World War. Artistic expressions of war are scrutinized, including the works of German artists and writers like Arnold Zweig and Alfred Döblin, who grappled with modernity's demands. The text also investigates themes of masculinity, the cult of military identity, and the portrayal of violence in literature, culminating in an examination of laws of war and revolution in Heiner Mülle