Heinrich Böll's Business Is Business

Every century struggles in various ways to survive, but through the strife society either constructs or destroyed versatile human beings. The Great Depression murdered everyone’s self-esteem and pride. During those years “it was impossible to find a bank whose doors weren’t permanently shuttered; behind those doors the savings of countless American families had disappeared forever. Nobody could say when, or if, the hard times would ever end” (8). The era of the Great Depression infused everyone’s minds’ with fear and anguish. The economic crash initiated hard times for people such as Joe Rantnz. Families had to struggle to find money for food to support themselves. A strain was conceived in families as men struggled to provide for them. There were no jobs available and all hope was lost. Around the same time, Hitler was making his rise: “On the podium, Hitler addressed them directly, jabbing at the air with one arm, his fish clenched” (144). Hitler’s plan to dominate the world was in action. His innocent appearance fooled the world. Germany was the host of the

The book is broken down into four sections which explains his conception of the main argument, the ideas of national community, racial grooming, destruction of countries, and the perception of the war. The ideas of national renewal, while not something the German people supposedly wanted, would soon reshape the society even when they knew their former Jewish friends and neighbors were victims of genocide under the Nazi regime. The evidence given throughout the analysis include written letters between the day-to-day German people and diaries of both prominent and average members of society. The vast array of people proved that the Nazi regime had touched even the furthest people from society to accept their ideas of German

People cannot choose the time to live and die. Ginzburg had to live through the horrors of war: destroyed houses, air raids, arrests, and death. She shows how the war not only deprives people of their belongings, but also distorts the

Book Thief Author’s Craft Essay by Sydney Paunan World War II was one of the darkest periods of time in human history. This is a fact widely known and accepted by most people, and this era of history is studied very often in schools so the horrors of the past may be taught and not repeated. But how did this two-front war affect young German children? They were growing up in a wildly violent time whilst being told that the horrible crimes committed by their country were justified, though this view of the war is often overlooked. Though The Book Thief does not tell a true story, it is very possible that the events in the story were the reality for many young children growing up in Nazi Germany.

In the opening remarks of the first chapter, Ernst Junger describes the idealistic origins of many of the soldiers called to action. Most of the soldiers drafted into the war were students and factory workers, all of whom lived a fairly sheltered life beforehand. Being drafted was seen as the adventure of a lifetime. They “shared a yearning for danger, for the experience of the extraordinary.” Much like his comrades, Junger had the same sense of adventure, seeing the war as merely a new challenge to conquer. After his first real experience with war however, his enthusiasm is quickly dashed. The harsh reality set in that this war was not, in fact, an adventure. Junger and the former schoolboys and craftsmen quickly learned that life in the trenches was a challenge of endurance. As the war persists, reality slowly sets in and Junger learns the true violent nature of the war and the constant threat of imminent danger through which he must persevere. Ernst Junger’s accounts in the memoir Storm of Steel show the reality of a soldier in World War I and the taxation of enduring such great trauma.

In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front, a group of German classmates enlist in World War I after pressure from their parents and teachers as very enthusiastic young soldiers. After beginning to fight, however, they realize it’s not as they pictured it, with one of them saying that they can’t go back to their old life as “the war has ruined us for everything” (87). The war for the characters has ruined them for everything because it has dehumanized them into completely different entities.

It is obvious from the opening chapter that this novel will center on the war and the effects it has on a young group of soldiers, none of them more than twenty years of age. They are all friends and former classmates of Paul Baumer, the narrator and protagonist of the book; they have enlisted in the German infantry because their teacher, Kantorek, had painted for them a glorious picture of fighting and saving the homeland from destruction during World War I. In this first chapter, Baumer and his friends are away from the front lines, relaxing a bit after two weeks of fierce fighting. As each of the young men is introduced, it is apparent that they are tired, hungry, angry, and disillusioned over the war.

The aim of this book review is to analyze Night, the autobiographical account of Elie Wiesel’s horrifying experiences in the German concentration camps. Wiesel recounted a traumatic time in his life with the goal of never allowing people to forget the tragedy others had to suffer through. A key theme introduced in Night is that these devastating experiences shifted the victim 's view of life. By providing a summary, critique, and the credentials of the author Elie Wiesel, this overview of Night will reveal that the heartbreaking events of the Holocaust transformed the victims outlook, causing them to have a lack of empathy and faith.

After World War II Germany was left devastated and in ruins. There had been massive destruction of the country’s infrastructure (Bessel 2011), it lacked political structure and economic activity had plummeted. There was a scarcity of food, fuel and housing and Germany was in no condition to clothe or feed its population (O’Dochartaigh 2003).

In the opening chapter, Paul Baumer, the narrator, recalls how schoolteachers, such as his own, persuaded their bright-eyed students to put on the German colors. Paul’s teacher, Kantorek, taught his students the importance of the war as he instilled in them the values of nationalism and patriotism. Everyday, he sprouted war propaganda at them in “long lectures” (Remarque 11). He glamorized the war telling his students that they were “the Iron Youth” (Remarque 18) and that “duty to one’s country is the greatest thing” (Remarque 13). Consequently, his students left class enlisted in the war one by one “until the whole of the class went” (Remarque 11). When the students left the comforts of home to volunteer for the war, they valued their country above all else and were prepared to face their own death as doing so lined up with what they believed in.

From 1939 through 1941 millions were faced with the violence and devastation of World War II. Life on the Homefront in the United States and Great Britain was difficult and overwhelming.World War II was one of the most bloody battles in history, and most of whom were civilians.In this paper, we will explore what life is like for people during a terrifying war.

The novel German Boy by Wolfgang Samuel is about his life as a boy from Germany. The book takes place during World War II. Wolfgang goes through this tragic time era with his mother and his sister Ingrid. He is not able to live a normal life of a child such as other children in the world. The characters, settings, and themes make this novel the success it is today because it helps the reader to know what it was like to live during WWII. Wolfgang’s development and experiences further the reader's interest. Going to Berlin and Strasburg from Wolfgang’s hometown Sagan added to the struggles that he faced with moving from place to place to seek safety. Family will always be there to help and no one is safe from war is what Wolfgang learns with his experiences living in this time period.

“As a writer of fiction Böll was interpreting history, creating patterns of meaning, ordering his material to enable his reader to make sense of it.” The experiences of Böll and his values that arose from these events have been influential on the content and themes of Böll’s novel, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum. Böll experienced both the first and second world wars and the effects that these wars had on German society. Events such as the economic collapse in Germany post WWII, the construction of the

Therefore, this film is not only a testimony about the German past but also the German present. It displays the irrational annihilation of six young Germans at the end of WWII, summoning up a very agonizing recollection of Nazi Germany’s futile effort to turn back the Allied invasion by hurling teenage boys into the

The Great War, also known as World War I, is a defining moment in Europe’s history. Its aftermath consists of the demolition of Germany’s economy, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the loss of an entire generation of young men who were sent into combat. All Quiet on the Western Front chronicles the experiences of Paul Baumer, a 19-year old student who volunteers for the military during World War I along with his classmates Muller and Kropp. They are compelled to enlist by Kantorek, their fiercely patriotic but misguided schoolmaster. Paul’s life in the military is told in short entries that reveal the reality of war: horrifying battles, violence, alienation, emotional indifference. His accounts of war are personal and emotional, and the bleak tone