Open Access

Alexander Rubel

• This paper tries to present Ernst Jüngerʼs perception of „the enemy“ in his first publication, the novellike, personal report on his experiences in WW I, „Storm of Steel“, published for the first time in 1920. Interestingly his characterization of the French, English, Scottish – and a squad of Indian – Soldiers varies in the different editions of this work, which suffered six to seven revisons (the last one for editing the opera omnia in 1978). While especially the 1924 edition had a nationalistic bias, as Jünger for example mocked on French civilization, such passages were eliminated during a revison in 1934. Generally, also in the earlier editions, Jüngerʼs approach towards describing the enemy is distinguished by high respect and an outmoded chevalersque ethos of a warrioar-caste, which was in WW I already part of the historical past. Only some traces of every-day racism, typical for the German imperial age, found its way also in the last editions: the description of colonial military forces (Moroccans, Indians).