TOTALMOBILIZATION1

ErnstJüngerItgoesagainstthegrainoftheheroicspirittoseekouttheimageofwarinasourcethatcanbedeterminedbyhumanaction. Still, the multitudinous transformations anddisguises which the pure form [Gestalt]of war [pg 123]endures amid the vicissitudes of human time and space

offersthisspiritagrippingspectacletobehold.Thisspectacleremindsusofvolcanoeswhich,althoughtheyareatworkinverydifferentregions,constantlyspewforththesameearthly fire. To have participated in a war means somethingsimilar: to have been in the vicinity of such a fire‐spittingmountain;butthereisagreatdifferencebetweenHeklainIcelandand Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples. One might say that thedifference in the landscapesvanishes the closeroneapproachesthe crater's glowing jaws; also at the point where authenticpassion breaks through‐above all, in the naked and immediatestruggle for life and death‐it becomes a matter of secondaryimportance in which century, for what ideas, and with whatweaponsthebattle isbeing fought.But that isnot thesubjectofouressay.Instead,wewilltrytoassembleanumberoffactsthatdistinguishthe lastwar‐ourwar, the greatest andmost influential event ofouragefromotherwarswhosehistoryhasbeenhandeddowntous.1 Published in The Heidegger Controversy, 119-39. Translated by Joel Golb and Richard Wolin. Originally (“Totale Mobilmachung”) first appeared in Kriegund Krieger, edited by Ernst Jiinger (Berlin: Junker und Diinnhaupt, 1930).

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Perhaps we can best identify the special nature of thisgreatcatastrophebytheassertionthat in it, thegeniusofwarwaspenetratedbythespiritofprogress.Thiswasnotonly the case for the fighting among the differentcountries;itwasalsotrueforthecivilwarthatgathereda

rich second harvest in many of them. These two phenomena,world war and world revolution, are much more closelyinterrelatedthanafirstglancewouldindicate.Theyaretwosidesofaneventofcosmicsignificance,whoseoutbreakandoriginsareinterdependentinnumerousrespects.It is likely that many unusual discoveries await our thinkingregarding the reality hidden behind the concept "progress" ‐anambiguous concept glittering in many colors. Undoubtedly thewayweareinclinedthesedaystomakefunofitcomestoocheap.To be sure, we could cite every truly significant nineteenth‐centurythinkerinsupportofouraversion;still,byallourdisgustat the dullness and uniformity of the lifeforms at issue, thesuspicionarisesthat theirsourceisofmuchgreatersignificance.Ultimately,eventheprocessofdigestiondependsonthepowersofawondrousandinexplicableLife.Certainly,itcantodaybe[pg124] demonstrated convincingly that progress is, in fact, notreallyprogress.Butmoreimportantthanthisconviction,perhaps,isthequestionofwhethertheconcept'srealsignificanceisnotofa more mysterious and different sort: one which uses theapparently undisguised mask of reason as a superb place ofhiding.It is precisely the certainty with which progressive movementsproduce results contradicting their own innermost tendencieswhichsuggeststhathere,aseverywhereinlife,whatprevailsarenotsomuchthesetendenciesbutother,morehiddenimpulsions."Spirit" ["Geist"]hasoften justifiablyreveled incontempt for thewooden marionettes of progress; but the fine threads thatproducetheirmovementsareinvisible.Ifwewishtolearnsomethingaboutthestructureofmarionettes,there is no more pleasant guide than Flaubert's novel Bouvard

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andpecuchet.But ifwewish to consider thepossibilities of thismoresecretmovement‐amovementalwayseasier tosense thanprove‐both Pascal and Hamann offer a wealth of revealingpassages."Meanwhile, our phantasies, illusions, fallaciae opticae, andfallaciesstandunderGod'srealm."Wefindstatementsofthissortfrequently in Hamann; they reflect a sensibility that strives toincorporatethelaborsofchemistryintotherealmofalchemy.Letusleaveasidethequestionofwhichspirit'srealmrulesovertheoptical illusion of progress: this study isno demonology, but isintendedfortwentieth‐centuryreaders.Nevertheless,onethingiscertain:onlyapowerofculticorigin,onlyabelief,couldconceiveofsomethingasaudaciousasextendingtheperspectiveofutility[Zweckmdssigkeit]intotheinfinite.And who, then, would doubt that progress is the nineteenthcentury's great popular church‐the only one enjoying realauthorityanduncriticalfaith?

With a war breaking out in such an atmosphere, therelation of each individual contestant to progress wasboundtoplayadecisiverole.Andpreciselythereinliestheauthentic, moral factor of our age: even the strongest

armies, equipped with the industrial era's latest weapons ofannihilation,arenomatchforitsfine,imponderableemanations;forthiseracanevenrecruititstroopsfromtheenemy'scamp.[pg125]Inordertoclarifythissituation,letushereintroducetheconceptof totalmobilization:the timesare longgonewhen it sufficed tosend a hundred thousand enlisted subjects under reliableleadership intobattle ‐aswe find, say, inVoltaire'sCandide;andwhen, if HisMajesty lost a battle, the citizen's first dutywas tostayquiet.Nonetheless,eveninthesecondhalfofthenineteenthcentury,conservativecabinetscouldstillprepare,wage,andwinwarswhichthepeople'srepresentativeswereindifferenttowards

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or even against. To be sure, this presupposed a close relationbetween crown and army; a relation that hadonly undergone asuperficial change through the new system of universalconscription and which still essentially belonged to thepatriarchal world. It was also based on a fixed calculation ofarmamentsandcosts,whichmadewarseemlikeanexceptional,but in no sense limitless, expenditure of available forces andsupplies. In this respect, even general mobilization had thecharacterofapartialmeasure.These restrictions not only reflect the limited degree ofmeans,butalsoaspecificraisond'etat.Themonarchpossessesanaturalinstinct warning him not to trespass the bounds of dynasticpower.Themeltingdownofhistreasureseemslessobjectionablethan credits approved by an assembly; and for the decisivemoment of battle, he would rather reserve his guards than aquota of volunteers. We find this instinct remaining healthy inPrussia deep into the nineteenth century. One example amongmanyisthebitterfightforathreeyears'conscription:whereasabriefperiodofserviceischaracteristicforavolunteerarmy,whendynastic power is at stake, tried and tested troops are morereliable. Frequently, we even come upon‐what by today'sstandards is almost unthinkable‐a renunciation of progress andany consummate equipping of the army; but such scruples alsohave their reasons. Hence hidden in every improvement offirearms‐especiallytheincreaseinrange‐isanindirectassaultonthe conditions of absolute monarchy. Each such improvementpromotes firing at individual targets,while the salvo incarnatesthe force of fixed command. Enthusiasmwas still unpleasant toWilhelm I. It springs from a source that, like Aeolus' windsack,hidesnotonlystormsofapplause.Authority'struetouchstoneisnottheextentofjubilationitreceives,butthewarsthathavebeenlost.Partialmobilizationthuscorrespondstotheessenceofmonarchy.The latter oversteps its bounds to the extent that it is forced tomakethe[pg126]abstractformsofspirit,money,"folk"‐inshort,the forces of growing national democracy‐a part of the

preparationforwar.Lookingbackwecannowsaythatcompleterenunciation of such participation was quite impossible. Themanner in which it was incorporated [into political life]represents the real essence of nineteenth‐century statecraft.These particular circumstances explain Bismarck's maxim thatpoliticsisthe"artofthepossible."Wecannowpursuetheprocessbywhichthegrowingconversionoflifeintoenergy,theincreasinglyfleetingcontentofallbindingtiesindeferencetomobility,givesanever‐moreradicalcharactertotheactofmobilization‐whichinmanystateswastheexclusiveright of the crown, needing no counter‐signature. The eventscausingthisarenumerous:withthedissolutionoftheestatesandthecurtailingofthenobility'sprivileges,theconceptofawarriorcaste also vanishes; the armed defense of the state is no longerexclusively the duty and prerogative of the professional soldier,but the responsibilityofeveryonewhocanbeararms.Likewise,becauseofthehugeincreaseinexpenses,itisimpossibletocoverthecostsofwagingwaronthebasisofafixedwarbudget;instead,a stretching of all possible credit, even a taxation of the lastpfennig saved, is necessary to keep themachinery inmotion. Inthesameway,theimageofwarasarmedcombatmergesintothemore extended image of a gigantic labor process(Arbeitsprozesses]. In addition to the armies that meet on thebattlefields, originate the modern armies of commerce andtransport, foodstuffs,themanufactureofarmamentsthearmyoflabor ingeneral. In the finalphase,whichwasalreadyhintedattowardtheendofthelastwar,thereisnolongeranymovementwhatsoever‐be it that of the homeworker at her sewingmachinewithout at least indirect use for the battlefield. In thisunlimitedmarshalingofpotentialenergies,whichtransformsthewarringindustrialcountriesintovolcanicforges,weperhapsfindthe most striking sign of the dawn of the age of laborlArbeitszeitalter]. It makes the World War a historical eventsuperior in significance to the French Revolution. In order todeploy energies of such proportion, fitting one's sword‐arm nolonger suffices; for this is amobilization [Rustung]that requiresextensiontothedeepestmarrow,life'sfinestnerve.Itsrealization

is the task of total mobilization: an act which, as if through asinglegraspofthe[pg127]controlpanel,conveystheextensivelybranched and densely veined power supply of modern lifetowardsthegreatcurrentofmartialenergy.At thebeginningof theWorldWar, thehuman intellecthadnotyetanticipatedamobilizationofsuchproportions.Still, itssignswere manifest in isolated instances‐for example, the largeemployment of volunteers and reservists at thewar's start, thebanonexports,thecensor'sregulations,thechangesofcurrencyrates. In the course of the war this process intensified: asexamples,wecancitetheplannedmanagementofrawmaterialsand foodstuffs, the transposition of industrial conditions[Arbeitsverhiiltnisses] tomilitary circumstances, civil‐guard duty,the arming of trade vessels, the unexpected extension of thegeneralstaff'sauthority,the"Hindenburgprogram,"Ludendorff'sstruggleforthefusionofmilitaryandpoliticalcommand.Nevertheless,despite thespectacle,bothgrandioseand frightful,of the later "battles ofmateriel" ["Materialschlachten"], inwhichthehumantalent fororganizationcelebrates itsbloodytriumph,its fullest possibilities have not yet been reached. Even limitingourscopetothetechnicalsideoftheprocess,thiscanonlyoccurwhentheimageofmartialoperationsisprescribedforconditionsofpeace.Wethusseethatinthepostwarperiod,manycountriestailor new methods of armament to the pattern of totalmobilization.Inthisregard,wecanintroduceexamplessuchastheincreasingcurtailmentof"individualliberty,"aprivilegethat,tobesure,hasalways beenquestionable. Such an assault takes place inRussiaand Italy and then here in Germany; its aim is to deny theexistence of anything that isnota function of the state.We canpredict a time when all countries with global aspirations musttakeuptheprocess,inordertosustainthereleaseofnewformsof power. France's evaluation of the balance of power from theperspectiveofenergiepotentiellebelongs inthiscontext,asdoesthe model America has offered‐already in peacetime‐ for

cooperation between industry and the army. German warliteratureraisedissuestouchingontheveryessenceofarmament,forcing the general public to make judgments about matters ofwar(ifsomewhatbelatedlyandinrealityanticipatingthefuture).For the first time, the Russian "five‐year plan" presented theworldwithanattempttochannelthecollectiveenergiesofagreatempire into a single current. Seeing how [pg 128] economictheory turns volte‐face is here instructive. The "plannedeconomy,"asoneofthefinalresultsofdemocracy,growsbeyonditselfintoageneralunfoldingofpower.Wecanobservethisshiftinmanyeventsofourage.Thegreatsurgingforthofthemassestherebyreachesapointofcrystallization.Still, not only attack but also defense demands extraordinaryefforts, andhere theworld's compulsionsperhapsbecomeevenclearer.Justaseverylifealreadybearstheseedsofitsowndeath,so the emergence of the great masses contains within itself ademocracy of death. The era of the well‐aimed shot i~ alreadybehind us. Giving out the night‐flight bombing order, thesquadronleadernolongerseesadifferencebetweencombatantsandcivilians,andthedeadlygascloudhoverslikeanelementarypower over everything that lives. But the possibility of suchmenaceisbasedneitheronapartialnorgeneral,butratheratotalmobilization. It extends to the child in the cradle, who isthreatenedlikeeveryoneelse‐evenmoreso.Wecouldcitemanysuchexamples.Itsufficessimplytoconsiderour daily life, with its inexorability andmerciless discipline, itssmoking, glowing districts, the physics and metaphysics of itscommerce, its motors, airplanes, and burgeoning cities. With apleasure‐tingedhorror,we sense that here, not a single atom isnot in motion‐that we are profoundly inscribed in this ragingprocess. Total Mobilization is far less consummated than itconsummatesitself;inwarandpeace,itexpressesthesecretandinexorable claim to which our life in the age of masses andmachines subjects us. It thus turns out that each individual lifebecomes,evermoreunambiguously,thelifeofaworker;andthat,following thewars of knights, kings, and citizens,we now have

wars of workers. The first great twentieth‐century conflict hasoffered us a presentiment of both their rational structure andtheirmercilessness.

We have touched on the technical aspects of TotalMobilization; theirperfectioncanbe traced fromthe firstconscriptions of the Convention government during theFrenchRevolutionandScharnhorst'sarmyreorganization2tothedynamicarmamentprogramoftheWorldWar'slast

[pg129]years‐whenstatestransformedthemselvesintogiganticfactories,producingarmiesontheassemblylinethattheysenttothe battlefield bothday andnight,where an equallymechanicalbloody maw took over the role of consumer. The monotony ofsuchaspectacle‐evokingthepreciselaborofaturbinefueledwithblood‐isindeedpainfultotheheroictemperament;still,therecanbe no doubt regarding its symbolic meaning. Here a severenecessity reveals itself: the hard stamp of an age in a martialmedium.Inanyevent,TotalMobilization'stechnicalsideisnotdecisive.Itsbasis‐like that of all technology‐lies deeper.We shall address ithereasthereadinessformobilization.Suchreadinesswaspresenteverywhere: theWorldWarwas one of themost popular warsknown to history. Thiswas because it took place in an age thatexcluded a priori all but popular wars. Also, aside from minorwars of colonialism and plunder, the involved nations hadenjoyedarelativelylongperiodofpeace.Atthebeginningofourinvestigation,however,wepromisedemphaticallynottofocusonthe elementary stratum of human nature that mix of wild andnoblepassionsrestingwithin it, rendering italwaysopen to thebattle cry. Rather, we will now try to disentangle the multiplesignalsannouncingandaccompanyingthisparticularconflict.

2 'Translators' note: Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (1755-1813), Prussian general and creator of the modern Prussian military system. Following Prussia's losses in the Napoleonic wars, he reformed the Prussian military by abolishing its predominantly mercenary character and opting instead for a national force based on universal conscription.

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Wheneverweconfronteffortsofsuchproportions,possessingthespecialqualityof"uselessness"["Zwecklosigkeit"]‐saytheerectionof mighty constructions like pyramids and cathedrals, or warsthat call into play the ultimate mainsprings of life‐economicexplanations,nomatterhowilluminating,arenotsufficient.Thisis the reason that the school of historical materialism can onlytouchthesurfaceoftheprocess.Toexplaineffortsofthissort,weoughtrather focusour firstsuspicionsonphenomenaofaculticvariety.Indefiningprogressas thenineteenthcentury'spopularchurch,wehave already suggested the sourceof the lastwar's effectiveappeal to the great masses, whose participation was soindispensable.Thisappealaloneaccountsforthedecisiveaspectof their Total Mobilization: that aspect with the force of faith.Shirkingthewarwasallthelesspossible[pg130]inproportiontothedegreeoftheirconviction‐hencetoproportiontothepuritywithwhich the resoundingwordsmoving them to action had aprogressivecontent.Granted,thesewordsoftenhadaharshandluridcolor;theireffectivenesscannotbedoubted.Theyresemblethebrightragssteeringthebattuepreytowardstherifle'sscope.Even a superficial glance, geographically separating thewarringpar .. ties into victors and vanquished, must acknowledge theadvantageof the"progressive"nations.ThisadvantageseemstoevokeadeterministicprocesssuchasDarwin'stheoryofsurvivalofthe"fittest."ItsdeterministicqualityisparticularlyapparentintheinabilityofvictoriouscountrieslikeRussiaandItalytoavoidacomplete destruction of their political systems. In this light, thewar seems to be a sure‐fire touchstone, basing its valuejudgmentsonrigorous, intrinsic laws: likeanearthquaketestingthefoundationsofeverybuilding.Even a superficial glance, geographically separating thewarringparties into victors and vanquished, must acknowledge theadvantageof the"progressive"nations.ThisadvantageseemstoevokeadeterministicprocesssuchasDarwin'stheoryofsurvival

ofthe"fittest."ItsdeterministicqualityisparticularlyapparentintheinabilityofvictoriouscountrieslikeRussiaandItalytoavoidacomplete destruction of their political systems. In this light, thewar seems to be a sure‐fire touchstone, basing its valuejudgmentsonrigorous, intrinsic laws: likeanearthquaketestingthefoundationsofeverybuilding.On theotherhand, theprogressive system'sunexpectedpowersof resistance,even inasituationofgreatphysicalweakness,arestriking.Hence,inthemidstoftheFrencharmy'ssuppressionofthat highlydangerous1917mutiny, a second,moral "miracle oftheMarne" unfolds,more symptomatic for thiswar thanpurelymilitaryfactors.Likewise,intheUnitedStateswithitsdemocraticconstitution,mobilizationcouldbeexecutedwitharigorthatwasimpossibleinPrussia,wheretherighttovotewasbasedonclass.AndwhocandoubtthatAmerica,thecountrylacking"dilapidatedcastles,basaltcolumns,andtalesofknights,ghostsandbrigands,"emerged the obvious victor of thiswar? Its coursewas alreadydecidednotbythedegreetowhichastatewasa"militarystate,"butbythedegreetowhichitwascapableofTotalMobilization.Germany, however,was destined to lose thewar, even if it hadwonthebattleoftheMarneandsubmarinewarfare.Fordespiteallthecare[pg131]withwhichitundertookpartialmobilization,large areas of its strength escaped Total Mobilization; for thesamereason,correspondingtotheinnernatureofitsarmament,it was certainly capable of obtaining, sustaining, and above allexploitingpartialsuccess‐butnevera totalsuccess.Toaffixsuchsuccess to our weapons would have required preparing foranother Cannae, one no less significant than that to whichSchlieffendevotedhislife'swork.33 Translators' note: It was at the battle of Cannae in 216 B.C. that Hannibal defeated the Romans. In the history of warfare, the battle stands as the most perfect example of the double envelopment of an opposing army. It took Rome nearly a decade to recover from the loss. General Alfred von Schlieffen (1833-1913) was head of the German general staff from 1891 to 1906. He was responsible for the "Schlieffen plan" employed in World War I, which concerned the problem of waging war on two fronts.

Butbeforecarryingthisargumentforward, letusconsidersomedisparatepoints,inthehopeoffurthershowingthelinkbetweenprogressandTotalMobilization.

One fact is clearly illuminating for those seeking tounderstandthewordprogressinitsgaudytimbre:inanage that publicly executed, under horrific torture, aRavaillac or even a Damienst as progeny of hell, theassassinationofroyaltywoulddamageamorepowerful

social stratum ‐one more deeply etched in belief‐than in thecentury following Louis XVI's execution. It turns out that in thehierarchy of progress, the prince belongs to a not especiallyfavoredspecies.Letusimagine,foramoment,thegrotesquesituationinwhichamajoradvertisingexecutivehadtopreparethepropagandaforamodernwar.Withtwopossibilitiesavailableforsparkingthefirstwave of excitement‐namely, the Sarajevo assassination or theviolationofBelgianneutrality‐therecanbenodoubtwhichwouldpromise the greater impact. The superficial cause of theWorldWar‐nomatterhowadventitious itmightseem‐is inhabitedbyasymbolicmeaning: in the case of the Sarajevo culprits and theirvictim, the heir to the Habsburg crown, [pg 132] national anddynastic principles collided‐the modern "right of national self‐determination" with the principle of legitimacy painstakinglyrestoredat theCongressofVienna [18 I5] throughstatecraftoftheoldstyle.Nowcertainly,beinguntimelyintherightsense‐settinginmotiona powerful effect in a spirit that desires to preserve a legacy‐is

Translators' note: Francois Ravaillac (1578-1610), regicide who assassinated King Henry IV. Robert-Francois Damiens (1714-1757), who was tortured and executed for his attempt on the life of Louis XV.

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praiseworthy.Butthisrequiresfaith.Itisclear,however,thattheCentral Powers' ideology was neither timely, nor untimely, norbeyond time. Rather, the mood was simultaneously timely anduntimely,resultinginnothingbutamixtureoffalseromanticismandinadequateliberalism.Hencetheobservercouldnothelpbutnoticeapredilectionforoutmodedtrappings,foralateromanticstyle, for Wagner's operas in particular. Words evoking thefidelityof theNibelungs,hopespinnedon the successof Islam'scalltoholywar,areexamples.Obviously,technicalquestionsandquestionsofgovernmentwere involvedhere‐themobilizationofsubstance but not the substance itself. But the ruling classes'inadequate relationship both to the masses and to profounderforcesrevealeditselfpreciselyinblundersofthissort.Hence even the famous, unintentionally brilliant reference to a"scrapofpaper"suffers fromhavingbeenuttered150years toolate‐and then from principles that might have suited PrussianRomanticism,butatheartwerenotPrussian.FredericktheGreatmight have spoken thus, poking fun at yellowed, mustyparchment in the manner of an enlightened despotism. ButBethmann‐Hollwegmusthaveknownthat inour timeapieceofpaper, say onewith a constitutionwritten on it, has ameaningsimilartothatofaconsecratedwaferfortheCatholicChurch‐andthattearinguptreatiescertainlysuitsabsolutism,butliberalism'sstrength lies in their exegesis. Study the exchange of notesprecedingAmerica'sentryintothewarandyouwillcomeuponaprincipleof "freedomof the seas"; thisoffersagoodexampleoftheextenttowhich,insuchanage,one'sowninterestsaregiventhe rank of a humanitarian postulate‐of an issuewith universalimplications for humanity. German social democracy, one of thebulwarksofGermanprogress,graspedthedialecticalaspectofitsmissionwhenitequatedthewar'smeaningwiththedestructionoftheczar'santi‐progressiveregime.But what does that signify as compared to the possibilities formobi‐[pg133] lizing the masses at the West's disposal? Whowould deny that "civilisation" is more profoundly attached toprogressthanis"Kultur";thatitslanguageisspokeninthelarge

cities, and that it has means and concepts at its command towhich Kultur is either hostile or indifferent? Kultur cannot beused forpropaganda.Anapproach that triesexploiting it in thisway is itself estranged from it‐just aswe find the serving up ofgreatGermanspirits'headsonmillionsofpaperstampsandbillstobepointless,orevensad.Wehave,however,nodesiretocomplainabouttheinevitable.Wewish only to establish that Germany was incapable ofconvincingly takingon thespiritof theage,whatever itsnature.Germanywasalsoincapableofproposing,toitselfortotheworld,a valid principle superior to that spirit. Rather, we find itsearching‐sometimes in romantic‐idealistic, sometimes inrational‐materialisticspheres‐forthosesignsandimagesthatthefightingindividualstrivestoaffixtohisstandards.Butthevaliditylyingwithinthesespheresbelongspartlytothepastandpartlytoa milieu alien to German genius; it is not sufficient to assureutmostdevotiontotheadvanceofmenandmachines‐somethingthatafearfulbattleagainstaworlddemands.In this lightwemuststruggleall themoretorecognizehowourelemental substance, the deep, primordial strength of the Volk,remainsuntouchedbysuchasearch.Withadmiration,wewatchhowGermanyouth,atthebeginningofthiscrusadeofreasontowhich theworld's nations are called under the spell of such anobvious, transparent dogma, raise the battle cry: glowing,enraptured,hungeringafterdeathinawayvirtuallyuniqueinourhistory.If one of these youths hadbeen askedhismotive for taking thefield,theanswer,certainly,wouldhavebeenlessclear.Hewouldhardly have spoken of the struggle against barbarism andreactionor for civilization, the freeingofBelgiumor freedomofthe seas; but perhaps hewould have offered the response, "forGermany"‐thatphrase,withwhichthevolunteerregimentswentontheattack.And yet, this smoldering fire, burning for an enigmatic and

invisible Germany, was sufficient for an effort that left nationstrembling to the marrow. What if it had possessed direction,awareness,andform[Gestalt]?[p134]

Asamodeoforganizationalthinking,TotalMobilizationismerely an intimationof thathighermobilization thatthe age is discharging upon us. Characteristic of thislatter type of mobilization is an inner lawfulness, towhich human laws must correspond in order to be

effective.Nothingillustratesthisclaimbetterthanthefactthatduringwarforces can emerge that are directed against war itself.Nonetheless,theseforcesaremorecloselyrelatedtothepowersatworkinthewarthanitmightseem.TotalMobilizationshiftsitssphereofoperations,butnotitsmeaning,whenitbeginstosetinmotion, instead of the armies ofwar, themasses in a civilwar.The conflict now invades spheres that are off limits to thecommandsofmilitarymobilization.Itisasiftheforcesthatcouldnot be marshaled for the war now demanded their role in thebloody engagement. Hence the more unified and profound thewar'scapacitytosummon,fromtheoutset,allpossibleforcesforitscause,thesurerandmoreimperturbablewillbeitscourse.Wehaveseen that inGermany, thespiritofprogresscouldonlybemobilized incompletely.Totake justoneamongthousandsofexamples, the case of Barbusse shows us that in France, forinstance, the situation was far more propitious.4In reality anoutspokenopponentofwar,Barbussecouldonlystaytruetohisideas by readily affirming this one: to his mind, it reflected astruggle of progress, civilisation, humanity, and even peace,against a principle opposed to all these factors. "War must bekilledoffinGermany'sbelly." 4 Translators' note: Henri Barbusse (1873-1935), french writer whose experiences in World War I led him to pacifism. In 1916 he wrote the powerful anti-war novel, Le feu (Under Fire).

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Nomatterhowcomplicatedthisdialecticappears, itsoutcomeisinexorable. A person with the least apparent inclination formilitary conflict still findshimself incapable of refusing the rifleofferedby the state, since thepossibilityof analternative isnotpresent tohisconsciousness.Letusobservehimasherackshisbrains, standing guard in the wasteland of endless trenches,abandoningthetrenchesaswellasanyonewhenthetimecomes,inordertoadvancethroughthehorrificcurtainoffireofthewarofmateriel.Butwhat,infact,isamazingaboutthis?Barbusseisawarrior likeanyother: awarrior forhumanity, able [pg135] toforgomachine‐gunfireandgasattacks,andeventheguillotine,aslittle as theChristian church can forgo itsworldly sword.Tobesure,inordertoachievesuchadegreeofmobilization,aBarbussewouldneedtoliveinFrance.The German Barbusses found themselves in a more difficultposition.Onlyisolatedintellectsmovedearlytoneutralterritory,decidingtowageopensabotageagainstthewareffort.Thegreatmajoritytriedcooperatingwiththedeployment.WehavealreadytouchedonthecaseofGermansocialdemocracy.Letusdisregardthe fact that, despite its internationalist dogma, themovement'srankswerefilledwithGermanworkers,hencecouldbemovedtoheroism.No‐initsveryideology,itshiftedtowardsarevisionthatlaterledtothechargeof"thebetrayalofMarxism."Wecangetarough idea of the procedure's details in the speeches deliveredduringthiscriticalperiodbyLudwigFrank,theSocialDemocraticleaderandReichstagdeputy,who, as a forty‐year‐oldvolunteer,fell fromashot to theheadatNoissoncourt inSeptember1914."We comrades without a fatherland still know that, even asstepchildren,wearechildrenofGermany,andthatwemustfightforourfatherlandagainstreaction.Ifawarbreaksout,theSocialDemocratic soldiers will also conscientiously fulfill their duty"(August 29, 1914). This extremely informative passage containsin a nutshell the forms ofwar and revolution that fate holds inreadiness.Forthosewhowishtostudythisdialecticindetail,thepractices

of the newspapers and journals during the war years offer awealth of examples. HenceMaximilian Harden‐the editor ofDieZukunft and perhaps the best‐known journalist of theWilhelminian period‐began adjusting his public activity to thegoals of the central command. We note, only insofar as it issymptomatic,thatheknewhowtoplayuponthewar'sradicalismaswell as hewould later play upon that of theRevolution.Andthus, Simplicissimus,"an organ that had directed itsweapons ofnihilisticwitagainstallsocialties,andthusalsoagainstthearmy,now took on a chauvinistic tone. It is clear, moreover, that thejournal'squalitydiminishesasitspatriotictenorrises‐thatis,asitabandonsthefieldofitsstrength.Perhaps the inner conflict at issue here ismost apparent in thecase of [pg 136] Rathenau;5it endows this figure‐for anyonestruggling to do him justice‐with the force of tragedy. To aconsiderableextent,Rathenauhadmobilizedforthewar,playingarole inorganizingthegreatarmamentandfocusing‐evenclosetotheGermancollapse‐onthepossibilityofa"massinsurrection."Howis itpossiblethatsoonafter,hecouldofferthewell‐knownobservation thatworldhistorywouldhave lost itsmeaninghadtheReich'srepresentativesenteredthecapitalasvictorsthroughtheBrandenburgGate?Hereweseeveryclearlyhowthespiritofmobilizationcandominateanindividual'stechnicalcapacities,yetfailtopenetratehisessence.

With our last fighters still lying before the enemy, thesecret army and secret general staff commandingGermanprogressgreetedthecollapsewithexultation.Itresembledtheexultationatavictoriousbattle.Itwasthe

closestallyof theWesternarmiessoon tocross theRhine, their

5 Translators' note: Walter Rathenau (1867-1922), leading German industrialist who played a key role in organizing the supply of raw materials for Germany's war effort during World War I. Served as minister of reconstruction and foreign minister during the Weimar Republic and negotiated the Treaty of Rapallo with the Soviet Union. Rathenau, who was jewish, was assassinated by right-wing extremists on june 24, 1922.

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Trojan horse. The reigning authorities acknowledged the newspiritbythelowlevelofprotestwithwhichtheyhastilyvacatedtheirposts.Betweenplayerandopponent,therewasnoessentialdifference.This is also the reason that in Germany, the politicaltransformation[followingthemilitarycollapse]tookonrelativelyharmlessform.Thus,evenduringthecrucialdaysofdecision,theEmpire's SocialDemocraticminister could playwith the idea ofleaving the crown intact. And what would that have signified,otherthanmaintainingafacade?Foralongtime,thebuildinghadbeensoencumberedwith"progressive"mortgages,thatnomoredoubtwaspossibleastothetrueowner'snature.Butthereisanotherreasonwhythechangecouldtakeplacelessviolently in Germany than, say, Russia‐besides the fact that theauthoritiesthemselvespreparedthewayforit.Wehaveseenthata large portion of the "progressive forces" had already beenoccupiedwithdirecting thewar. The energy squanderedduringthewarwasthennolongeravailablefortheinternalconflict.Toexpressitinmorepersonal[pg137]terms:itmakesadifferenceif formerministers take thehelmorarevolutionaryaristocracy,educatedinSiberianexile.GermanylostthewarbywinningastrongerplaceintheWesternsphere‐civilization, peace, and freedom in Barbusse's sense. Buthowcouldweexpect anythingdifferent, sinceweourselveshadswornallegiancetosuchvalues;atnopricewouldwehavedaredextendthewarbeyondthat"wallwrappedaroundEurope."Thiswouldhaverequireddifferentideasanddifferentallies,adeeperdisclosureofone'sownvalues.Anincitementofsubstancecouldhaveeventakenplacewithandthroughprogressivistoptimism‐asRussia'scasesuggests.

Whenwecontemplate theworld thathasemerged fromthe catastrophe ‐what unity of effect, what incrediblyrigoroushistoricalconsistency!Really, ifall thespiritual8

and physical structures of a non‐civilizational variety extendingfrom the nineteenth century's end to our own age had beenassembled in a small space and fired on with all the world'sweapons‐thesuccesscouldnothavebeenmoreresounding.The Kremlin's old chimes now play the Internationale. InConstantinople,schoolchildrenusetheLatinscriptinsteadoftheKoran's old arabesques. In Naples and Palermo, Fascist policeregulatethepaceofsouthernlifeasifdirectingmoderntraffic.Intheworld'sremotest,evenlegendarylands,housesofparliamentare being ceremoniously dedicated. The abstractness, hence thehorror, of all human circumstances is increasing inexorably.Patriotism is being diluted through a new nationalism, stronglyfused with elements of conscious awareness. In Fascism,Bolshevism,Americanism,Zionism, in themovementsofcoloredpeoples, progress has made advances that until recently wouldhaveseemedunthinkable;itproceeds,asitwere,headoverheels,following the circular course of an artificial dialectic in order tocontinue itsmovement on a very simple plane. Disregarding itsmuch diminished allowances for freedom and sociability, it isstartingtorulenationsinwaysnotverydifferentfromthoseofanabsolute regime. In many cases the humanitarian mask hasalmost been stripped away, replaced by a half‐grotesque, half‐barbaric fetishismof themachine,anaivecultof technique; thisoccurs particularlywhere there is no direct, productive relationto those [pg 138] dynamic energies for whose destructive,triumphal course long‐range artillery and bomb‐loaded fightersquadronsrepresentonlythemartialexpression.Simultaneously,esteem for quantity [Massen] is increasing: quantity of assent,quantity of public opinion has become the decisive factor inpolitics.Socialismandnationalisminparticulararethetwogreatmillstonesbetweenwhichprogresspulverizeswhat is leftof theold world, and eventually itself. For a period of more than ahundredyears, themasses,blindedby theoptical illusionof thefranchise,weretossedaroundlikeaballbythe"right"and"left."It always seemed that one side offered refuge from the other'sclaims. Today everywhere the reality of each side's identity isbecomingmoreandmoreapparent;eventhedreamoffreedomis

disappearingasifunderapincers'irongrasp.Themovementsofthe uniformly molded masses, trapped in the snare set by theworld‐spirit,compriseagreatandfearfulspectacle.Eachofthesemovements leads to a sharper, more merciless grasp: forms ofcompulsion stronger than torture are atwork here; they are sostrong, that humanbeingswelcome them joyfully. Behind everyexit,markedwiththesymbolsofhappiness,lurkpainanddeath.Happyishealonewhostepsarmedintothesespaces.

Today,throughthecracksandseamsofBabel'stower,wecan already see a glacier‐world; this sight makes thebravest spirits tremble.Before long, the age of progresswill seem as puzzling as the mysteries of an Egyptian

dynasty. In thatera,however, theworldcelebratedoneof thosetriumphs that endow victory, for a moment, with the aura ofeternity.MoremenacingthanHannibal,withall toomightyfists,somber armies had knocked on the gates of its great cities andfortifiedchannels.In the crater's depths, the last war possessed a meaning noarithmetic canmaster.Thevolunteer sensed it inhis exultation,theGermandemon'svoiceburstingforthmightily,theexhaustionof theoldvaluesbeingunitedwithanunconscious longing foranew life. Who would have imagined that these sons of amaterialistic generation could have greeted death with suchardor?Inthiswayaliferichinexcessandignorantofthebeggar'sthriftdeclares itself.And just as theactual result [pg139]of anuprightlifeisnothingbutthegainofone'sowndeepercharacter,for us the results of this war can be nothing but the gain of adeeper Germany. This is confirmed by the agitation around uswhichisthemarkofthenewrace:onethatcannotbesatisfiedbyany of this world's ideas nor any image of the past. A fruitfulanarchyreignshere,whichisbornfromtheelementsofearthandfire, and which hides within itself the seeds of a new form ofdomination.Hereanew formofarmament stands revealed,onewhichstrivestoforgeitsweaponsfrompurerandhardermetals

9

thatproveimpervioustoallresistance.TheGermanconductedthewarwitha,forhim,alltooreasonableambitionofbeingagoodEuropean.SinceEuropethusmadewaronEurope‐whoelsebutEuropecouldbethevictor?Nevertheless,this Europe, whose area extends in planetary proportions, hasbecome extremely thin, extremely varnished: its spatial gainscorrespond toa loss in the forceof conviction.Newpowerswillemergefromit.Deepbeneaththeregionsinwhichthedialecticofwaraimsisstillmeaningful, the German encounters a stronger force: heencounters himself. In this way, the war was at the same timeabout him: above all, themeans of his own self‐realization.Andfor this reason, the new form of armament, in which we havealreadyforsometimebeenimplicated,mustbeamobilizationoftheGerman‐nothingelse.

IntroductionbyRichardWolin,editoroftheanthologyErnstJünger(b.1895)cametoprominenceduringthe192.0Sastheforemostchroniclerofthe"frontexperience"("Fronterlebnis")of World War I. His well‐nigh lyrical descriptions of trenchwarfareandthegreat"battlesofmateriel"("Materialschlachten")–thatis,ofthoseaspectswhichmadethiswaruniqueinhumanhistory–inworkssuchasIntheStormofSteel(192.0)andWarasInnerExperience(1922.) earned him the reputation of a type of"aesthetician of carnage." In this way, Jünger, who was, likeHeidegger,deeplyinfluencedbyNietzsche'scritiqueof"EuropeanNihilism," viewed the energies unleashedby theGreatWar as aheroic countermovement to European world–weariness: as aprovinggroundforanentireseriesofmasculinistwarrior‐virtuesthat seemed in danger of eclipse at the hands of an effete,decadent,andmaterialisticbourgeoisZivilisation.Yet, thewarof1914–1918hadprovedthatinthemodernagewarfarewasmoredependentontheamassingoftechnologicalcapacitiesratherthanactsofindividualheroism,andthisrealizationleftadeepimprintonallofJünger'swritingintheformofaprofoundamorfati.Thus,as the following passage from War as Inner Experiencedemonstrates,inthelastanalysisthewardidnotsomuchpresentopportunities for acts of individual prowess as it offered thepossibility of a metaphysical confrontation with certainprimordial, chthonic elements: forces of annihilation, death, andhorror:"Theenthusiasmofmanlinessburstsbeyonditselftosuchanextent that thebloodroilsas it surges through theveinsandglows as it foams through the heart .... [War] is an intoxicationbeyond all intoxication, an un‐[pg120]‐leashing that breaks allbonds.It isafrenzywithoutcautionandlimits,comparableonlytotheforcesofnature.Theretheindividualislikearagingstorm,the tossing sea, and the roaring thunder. He has melted intoeverything.Herestsatthedarkdoorofdeathlikeabulletthathasreacheditsgoal.Andthepurplewavesdashoverhim.Foralongtimehehasnoawarenessof transition. It isas ifawaveslipped

backintotheflowingsea."n1In the late twenties Jüngerpublishedover100essays in leadingorgans of Germany's conservative revolutionary movement(Arminius,DeutschesVolkstum,Vormarsch,andWiderstand),thusestablishinghimself, alongwith figures suchasMoeller vandenBruck and Oswald Spengler, as one of the movement's mostcelebrated and influential figures. "TotalMobilization" appearedinthe1930anthologyKriegundKrieger(WarandWarrior,whichwas edited by Jünger himself). It represents a distillation of theargument of his book–length study of two years hence, DerArbeiter–aworkwhichenjoyedatremendouscommercialsuccessand which, along with "Total Mobilization," represents aremarkableprefigurationoftotalitarianrule.Itisimportanttounderstandtheparamountstrategicroleplayedbyworkssuchas"TotalMobilization"andTheWorkeramongtheGerman conservative intelligentsia in the postwar period. Forthereupon hinges the all–important difference between the"traditional German conservatism" and the new generation of"conservative revolutionaries." (For this generational split,moreover,the"frontexperience"of1914–1918represents,asitwere, the great divide.) For whereas traditional Germanconservatives often rejected the utilitarianmind–set ofWesternmodernity in the name of an idealized, pre–capitalistGemeinschaft, the conservative revolutionaries–Jünger foremostamongthem–understoodthatifGermanyweretobevictoriousinthenextEuropeanwar,amodusvivendiwouldhavetobefoundwith the forces of modern technology, on which the futurebalanceofpowerdepended.Certainof these thinkers, therefore,began to flirt with the idea of a "modern community" –arestorationof the integralistvaluesofGemeinschaftinamannernevertheless consistentwith the new demands of the industrialera. In this way Enlightenment progressivism would undergo atransformation from quantity to quality: for the very forces ofscience, reason, and technological progress that had been theanimatingvaluesofthe[pg121]bourgeoisepochhadseeminglyreached a point where the inordinate degree of technological

concentration itself threatened to undermine the survival ofbourgeois liberalism. Or as Jünger argues forcefully in "TotalMobilization," in an ageof totalwarfare, thedifferencebetween"war"and"peace"iseffaced,andnosectorofsocietycanremain"unintegrated" when the summons to "mobilization" isannounced.The two works by Jünger, "Total Mobilization" and TheWorker,hadan indelible impactonHeidegger'sunderstandingofmodernpolitics.Infact,itwouldnotbemuchofanexaggerationtosaythathis"option"forNationalSocialismintheearly1930Swas based on the supposition that Nazism was the legitimateembodimentof theArbeitergesellschaft(societyofworkers) thathadbeenprophesiedby Jünger andwhich, as such, representedthe heroic overcoming of Western nihilism as called for byNietzsche and Spengler. In "The Rectorship 1933‐34: Facts andThoughts" (1945), Heidegger readily admits the enormity ofJünger'sinfluenceonhiscomprehensionofcontemporaryhistory:

Theway I alreadyviewed thehistorical situationat that time [i.e., inthe early 1930S] may be indicated with a reference. In 1930, ErnstJünger's essay on "Total Mobilization" appeared; in this essay thefundamentaloutlinesofhis1932bookTheWorkerarearticulated.Inasmall group, I discussed these writings at this time, along with myassistant [Werner] Brock, and attempted to show how in them anessential comprehension of Nietzsche's metaphysics is expressed,insofar as the history and the contemporary situation of theWest isseenand foreseen in thehorizonof thismetaphysics.On thebasisofthese writings, and even more essentially on the basis of theirfoundations,wereflectedonwhatwastocome,i.e.,wesoughttherebytoconfrontthelaterindiscussions.n2

In his lectures of the late 1930S, Heidegger would criticallydistancehimselffromNietzsche'smetaphysics.Intheearly1930S,however,hisrelationtoNietzschewasfarfromcritical.Instead,atthis time, he clearly viewed the historical potentials of theNazimovement‐its"innertruthandgreatness,"ashewouldremarkinAn Introduction toMetaphysics (1935) ‐ in a manner consistentwith the doctrines of Nietzsche and Jünger; that is, as aresurgence of a newheroic ethos, a "will to power," thatwould

place Germany in the forefront of amovement directed towardthe "self‐overcoming" of bourgeois nihilism. Thus, following theargument set forth by Jünger inTheWorker, in which [pg 122]"the soldier‐worker" isviewedasanewsocial "type" ("Gestalt")who is infatuated with risk, danger, heroism, and, as such,represents theantithesis to thetimorous"bourgeois,"Heideggerviews Nazism as a Nietzschean‐Jüngerian Arbeitergesellschaft instatunascendi.One of the most prescient contemporary reviews of War andWarriors was written by Walter Benjamin. The essence ofBenjamin's views was conveyed unambiguously by the title hechoseforhiscommentary,"TheoriesofGermanFascism."Oneofhiscentralinsightsconcernsthepeculiarly"aestheticist"tenorofJünger's appreciation of modern warfare. Or as Benjaminexpresses it, "Thisnewtheoryofwar ... isnothingotherthananunrestrainedtranspositionofthethesesofl'artpourl'arttowar."n3 For Benjamin the salient feature of Jünger's glorification ofwarliesinthefactthatitisnotsomuchaquestionoftheendsforwhichoneisfighting,butoftheintrinsicvalueofwarasanendinitself.And thus,warbecomesa typeof aesthetic spectacle tobeenjoyed for its own sake. Or as Jünger himself, speaking of theunprecedented carnage of the First World War, observes:"Whenever we confront efforts of such proportions, possessingthe special quality of 'uselessness' ['Zwecklosigkeit']‐ say, theerectionofmightyconstructionslikepyramidsandcathedrals,orwarsthatcallintoplaytheultimatemainspringsoflife‐economicexplanations,nomatterhowilluminating,arenotsufficient."

NotesI.ErnstJünger,KampfalsinneresErlebnis(Berlin,1922),p.57.2. Martin Heidegger, Die Selbstbehauptung der deutschen Universitat/DasRektorat T933‐34 (Frankfurt: Klostermann, 1985), p. 24; translated in thisvolumeas"TheSelf‐AssertionoftheGermanUniversity."3. Walter Benjamin, Gesammelte Schriften III (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1972),P·240.