War Experiences in Rural Germany: 1914-1923

Description

World War I was a uniquely devastating total war that surpassed all previous conflicts for its destruction. But what was the reality like on the ground, for both the soldiers on the front-lines and the women on the homefront?Drawing on intimate firsthand accounts in diaries and letters, War Experiences in Rural Germany examines this question in detail and challenges some strongly held assumptions about the Great War. The author makes the controversial case for the blurring of 'front' and 'homefront'. He shows that through the constant exchange of letters and frequent furloughs, rural soldiers maintained a high degree of contact with their home lives. In addition, the author provides a more nuanced interpretation of the alleged brutalizing effect of the war experience, suggesting that it was by far not as complete as has been previously understood. This pathbreaking book paints a vivid picture of the dynamics of total war on rural communities, from the calling up of troops to the reintegration of veterans into society.

Benjamin Ziemann is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Sheffield.

'The most thorough, nuanced, and gripping analysis of life in the German army during this war.' Roger Chickering, Georgetown University 'With this publication you get two books for the price of one. (...) This book is not only a richly documented 'military history from below', but a convincing, finely argued history of mentalities of a region in a crucial period.' Alan Kramer, Trinity College, Dublin 'Benjamin Ziemann's book, first published in 1997...can justifiably be seen as one of the most seminal works in this area. Indeed many, if not all, of his conclusions have stood the test of time (if ten years is an adequate test); and the on-going influence of his book can be seen in the numerous references to it in other scholarly works. As such, the decision to make it available to a wide audience of anglophone students and scholars is as welcome as it is inevitable.' Matthew Stibe, Sheffield Hallam University 'Benjamin Ziemann's excellent examination of life in rural communities in times of war could therefore represent an important first step towards a more complex and nuanced understanding of the impact of First World War upon Germany as a whole.' Alexander Clarkson, New College, Oxford University 'Ziemann's book offers a useful corrective to the legends surrounding the Fronterlebnis and the relations between soldiers and civilians that only began to emerge in the postwar years. (...) The book marks an important advance in the growing body of work on the actual effects of World War I on German Society, as opposed to the stuff of legend. Michael Nolan, Western Connecticut State University, for the Journal of Central European History 'The book, meticulously researched and beautifully argued, is essential reading for any scholar studying the army, the countryside, or Germany more broadly from 1914 to 1923'. Andrew Donson, University of Massachusetts, Amherst