Transformation and catharsis: parallel experiences of German nationalism during the first world war

This paper examines the complexities of German Nationalism during the Great War by employing a micro-level comparative analysis of the intellectual biographies of two superficially antithetical writers, Ernst Jünger and Hermann Hesse. It begins with a methodological overview, followed by a general sketch of the historical context, before examining and defining each man’s ideas about Nationalism in isolation, concluding with a direct comparative analysis. This study demonstrates that Jünger and Hesse’s ideas, far from being antithetical, actually ran parallel to each other. It illustrates that both men viewed Nationalism as the driving force for individual internal transformations, which, in aggregate, were a vehicle for external societal transformation. The evolution of this common definition of Nationalism and its societal role mirrored the over-arching emotional dynamics of World War I, particularly the profound need to find catharsis and meaning in the years immediately after the armistice