Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: April 8, 2021 at 9:34:33 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-War]: Brown on Guenther, 'Postcards from the > Trenches: A German Soldier's Testimony of the Great War' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Irene Guenther. Postcards from the Trenches: A German Soldier's > Testimony of the Great War. London Bloomsbury, 2018. > Illustrations. 248 pp. $40.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-350-01575-3. > > Reviewed by Adam Brown (Air University, Squadron Officer School) > Published on H-War (April, 2021) > Commissioned by Margaret Sankey > > In _Postcards From the Trenches: A German Soldier's Testimony of the > Great War_, Irene Guenther illustrates how, through his artwork in > his wartime postcards sent home, Otto Schubert provided haunting > visuals of life in the German trenches during World War I. > Additionally, this work analyzes iconic works of German art from > soldiers and widows affected by the lingering effects of the war in > the 1920s. Guenther argues that these postcards, in contrast to > images printed off by government sources, showed the ferocity and > true face of war as experienced by those affected by it. As a > professor of modern and American history at the University of > Houston, Guenther is a veteran at writing about art and politics in > early twentieth-century Europe. She is an accomplished author, > winning the Sierra Prize for Best History Book by the Western > Association of Women Historians and the Millia Davenport Award for > Best Book in Fashion History by the Costume Society of America. > > In the first chapter, using powerfully descriptive and illustrative > language, Guenther provides the context of the First World War to > familiarize readers with the individuals and communities affected > specifically in Germany. Guenther argues that art provided German > soldiers the methods and means to express their sentiments about the > frontlines to loved ones back home while also providing the German > government an opportunity to disseminate large amounts of patriotic > material in support of the war. However, she acknowledges that any > attempt to offer an authentic characterization of the war experience > would be over-generalized and plagued with variance issues, such as > sampling sizes, government censorship, and the events shaping the > card's content. Even with these caveats, a survey of the postcards > within this collection presents at least an idea of the common > experiences the German soldiers shared. > > In chapter 2, Guenther focuses on the trajectory of German artists > from the beginning of World War I through the middle of the twentieth > century. She begins with a discussion of the initial reactions of > German artists at the beginning of World War I and presents five > distinct categories into which the majority of their artwork could be > classified: patriotic victory over Germany's enemies, the war as a > spiritual crusade, transition of old to new beliefs in a spiritual > age, art whose sole nationalist purpose was to serve Germany, and the > transition of artistic attitudes regarding the realities of war. > Guenther notes in this last category how quickly attitudes of German > artists changed once the reality of mechanized warfare became > apparent to the civilian population. Guenther uses various case > studies to provide a historical persona of the artists and soldiers > and their perspectives of different war-related events and opposition > to the war. Through these case studies, she illustrates the > overarching theme, which is that the art German artists produced > during World War I presented the prospect of humanity's salvation as > imperiled by unthinking nationalism, political gamesmanship, violent > solutions, and dismissive historicizing, which still resonates today. > > In chapter 3, Guenther presents Schubert's profile and turns to the > main focus of the book, his artwork. She argues that Schubert's > postcards are significant because they present both written and > visual personal testimony rather than one or the other. The postcards > are vivid paintings with captions. The profile of Schubert's life > spans from his time as a soldier during World War I after he was > wounded to his discharge from the military, and describes how these > events affected his expressionistic artwork. During this analysis, > the author includes images of Schubert's prominent postcards to his > loved ones in Dresden. Schubert was respected in Germany after the > war, receiving several national awards that cemented his status as a > respected author for these postcards and other works that he wrote > after the war. However, Guenther depicts his star rising, and then > falling from grace during the Third Reich years, his Cold War > attitudes, and his attempts to illustrate his disgust of German > concentration camps during World War II. Guenther's method through > this profile is meant to showcase that Schubert's final days "brought > him full circle back to those difficult, yet hopeful days" that most > German artists had engaged in with forming groups and manifestos > advocating that art could provide hope for a just and peaceful world > (p. 81). Guenther ends the analysis and written portion of the book > by noting what Schubert's works and legacy contributes beyond the > postcards. > > She ends the book with a visual portfolio of all of Schubert's > artwork, spanning from his time on the frontlines through the end of > his life, illustrating the broader themes of war. In these artworks, > the artist depicts the agony, humiliation, salvation, hope, and > personal nature that warfare exacts from those who are connected to > it. > > The author's main argument and claim for writing the book is the > connection the art exhibited by Schubert had to the experiences of a > generation surviving World War I heading into the remainder of the > twentieth-century events that would shape the world. She argues that > the artwork's messages are as relevant now as they were then. His > message was to "stop, take [the art] in, and contemplate" the > complexity and devastation of war on everyone who is connected to it > (p. 85). > > Guenther provides an interesting analytical perspective on the > individual and psychological expression conveyed through the use of > postcards during World War I. She persuasively presents a survey of > historical artwork and evaluates the primary sources while humbly > acknowledging the limited scope of this work in the context of World > War I. This is an excellent read for anyone interested in a World War > I individual perspective, military history, or early > twentieth-century art. > > Citation: Adam Brown. Review of Guenther, Irene, _Postcards from the > Trenches: A German Soldier's Testimony of the Great War_. H-War, > H-Net Reviews. April, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56074 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#7825): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/7825 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/81941845/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
