Most readers know Ernst Junger (1895-1998) through Storm of Steel, his memoir of his service in the trenches during World War I. Yet Junger was a prolific writer and many of his works were serious philosophical works centered on the individual and his relationship to the State and society. Wooed by the Nazi’s who saw him for propaganda purposes as a great warrior who would inspire German youth, he resisted their efforts but remained in Germany serving in the Wehrmacht during the occupation of France. In this article, Russell Berman uses Junger’s 1939 novel On the Marble Cliffs as a foil for our time. The book was widely popular even in German at the time as some thought that it made light of the Nazi’s and especially Reich Marshall Goring; others thought that Stalin was the intended target. In today’s highly political atmosphere, where everything from science to math, language to art, race to culture is being politicalized, can we learn from the past, or will we close our eyes hoping for the best, or worse yet, believe that we are much more intelligent than those who went before us and believe that we can not make the same errors. Can we defeat the forces of chaos by using Junger’s tactic of logical thinking and clarity of mind? A long read but timely and helpful.
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/11/standing-against-tyranny
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