The Psychology of the Great War

The first World War had a profound effect on all those involved in it, either directly or indirectly. For the soldiers at the front, it was a traumatic and life changing experience in which they were faced with new technology employed for warfare, and increased methods of both technological and psychological battle. For those at home, it changed the way in which war was viewed and had a significant influence on the psychology and thinking of the time. Perhaps no other written works better reflect the changes and impacts that took place during the war than All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, and Civilization and its Discontents, by Sigmund Freud. Both reflect the changes that took place for the individual and for society as a result of the war. The first world war had a profound effect on the individual and society through the increase in technology in warfare, the psychological effects of warfare on individuals, and the effects on post-war society.
All Quiet on the Western Front offers an interesting look at the conditions that had to be endured on the battlefield. It is in the descriptions of death that some of the more vivid images are conveyed: “I see one of them, his face upturned, fall into a wire cradle. His body collapses, his hands remain suspended as though he were praying.” This description carries along with it an interesting piece of religious symbolism. In his Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud writes of a similar viewpoint towards the violence of the first world war and the underlying aggression and tension that emerges during such conflicts. He concludes with,
“Anyone who calls to mind the atrocities committed during the racial migrations or the invasions of the Huns, or by the people known as Mongols under Jenghiz Khan and Tamerlane, or at the capture of Jerusalem by the pious Crusaders, or even, indeed, the horrors of the recent World War-anyone who calls these things to mind will have to bow humbly before the truth of this view.”

Freud places the violence, aggression and outright horror of the war in the historical context of other examples of great conflict and torture. By illustrating how aggressive the warfare became, the experience of the soldiers at the front becomes clearly a constant source of traumatic experiences. Remarque writes of other horrors at the front, including a piece of technology that was introduced during this war, the machine gun, describing it as “A whole line has gone down before our machine-guns, then we have a lot of stoppages and they come nearer”. He provides another vivid description, “We make for the rear, pull wire cradles into the trench and leave bombs behind us with the strings pulled, which ensures us a fiery retreat. The machine-guns are already firing from the next position.” The introduction of new technology put to use for warfare has an interesting connection with a statement by Freud in his book,
“During the last few generations mankind has made an extraordinary advance in the natural sciences and their technical application…But they seem to have observed that this newly-won power over space and time, this subjugation of the forces of nature, which is the fulfillment of a longing going back thousands of years, has not increased the amount of pleasurable satisfaction that they may expect from life and has not made them feel happier.”
The irony that new advances in either technology or science has a strong connection with the application of that technology in warfare for the first time in World War I provides an example of how progress was simultaneously being geared toward destruction.
Both Remarque and Freud wrote about the intense violence of World War I. However, their individuals views on conflict differ somewhat. Freud sees conflict as an inherent, underlying part of human behavior. As he wrote in Civilization and its Discontents, “This conflict is set going as soon as men are faced with the task of living together.” He also states that “As we already know, it is the cause of hostility against which all civilizations have to struggle.” From these quotes, Freud’s view becomes apparent as one of the inevitability of conflict stemming from human behavior, and the co-existing of different countries and groups. Remarque comments on the irrelevance of the causes of conflict as they relate to individuals. His book is filled with quotes that represent the vanity of war as seen by the soldiers. One of the characters describes why the Kaiser wanted war in the first place: “…He has not had a war up till now. And every full-grown emperor requires at least one war, otherwise he would not become famous. You look in your school books.” This is an ironic statement on the reasons that the soldiers find for the emperors and leaders to be fighting each other. Remarque suggests that the soldiers themselves have no reason to be fighting one another, and that it is really a fight between countries, and displays this in a quote from one of his characters in his book: “A country? I don’t follow. A mountain in Germany cannot offend a mountain in France. Or a river, or a wood, or a field of wheat.” The underlying irony and even bitterness in these lines reflect the confusion that these soldiers experienced as to why they were fighting in the first place. Remarque sees war as unnecessary and unnatural for individuals, and that any disagreements should be settled through the individuals whom they personally concern.
Freud discussed the concern of aggression from specific countries, especially considering his background, expressing a concern for the German aggression based in anti-semitism. Freud continually states throughout his book that this aggression and tendency toward conflict is an inherent part of human nature. He claims that is it “clearly not easy for men to give up the satisfaction of this inclination to aggression”. It is a pessimistic viewpoint that human nature is so inclined towards violence. Freud not only believes it is natural, but that humans “do not feel comfortable without it”. As a result of his background, Freud gives specific examples of neighboring countries that are perpetually involved in conflicts, a phenomenon he terms “the narcissism of minor differences”. Freud also expresses his views on religion, stating that while Christianity, for example, began as a spreading of a belief in “universal love”, it grew into a state of “extreme intolerance towards those who remained outside it.”
There is another view present throughout Freud’s work that seems to view the very concept of civilization as a complication in the existence of the individual. For instance, he writes “Civilized man has exchanged a portion of his possibilities for happiness for a portion of security.” This can be seen as a reflection on his view of war and can be related to Remarque’s writing in that he sees the individuals as separate from the larger civilization yet they are required to serve to protect its security and to fight to preserve it.
Psychologically, the war left a strong mark on those who directly participated in the battles. Remarque illustrates this point very well throughout his book, All Quiet on the Western Front. Throughout the book, the psychological aspects of the war come in two forms, the call to arms that is presented in the classroom, and the traumatic effects suffered from experiencing war in real life. These opposite sources of psychological workings in the novel present the conflict between perception and reality that was shared between the soldiers at the front, and the society back home. In the classroom, the teacher rallies the students to enlist, “During drill-time Kantorek gave us long lectures until the whole of our class went, under his shepherding, to the District Commandant and volunteered…These teachers always carry their feeling ready in their waistcoat pockets, and trot them out by the hour.” This represents the willingness of the individuals to act together as a group. However, their decisions change as they experience the realities of war. As Remarque describes these changes in All Quiet on the Western Front, “And even if the scenes of our youth were given back to us we would hardly know what to do. The tender, secret influence that passed from them into us could not rise again.” These two quotes represent the polar opposite ends of the emotions associated with the conflict. Remarque also tends to present a strong case for individualism opposed to unquestioning authority. He presents the military officers in a negative light, and makes the reader sympathize with the soldiers’ opposition to authority and uniformity.
The effects of war were felt strongly at home, as well. Freud offers his views on the psychological framework of post-war society, and Remarque sees the homefront’s response as more one of ignorance and hypocrisy and gives a scathing indictment of propaganda and a false sense of pride in his book. Freud wrote, “It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurements…and that they underestimate what is of true value in life.” This statement offers an insight to his views of the values that individuals and society often place on different accomplishments and achievements and varying, relative degrees of success. It relates directly to a section of Remarque’s novel in which the main character returns home to find the perception of the war to be very different from the reality. Paul is confronted with the concern his mother feels for him, and is asked by the local citizens at the beer garden to tell of the excitement and adventures to be found in war, but Paul cannot. He sees that the perception they hold is essentially a false one.
Freud saw this sense of community as a necessary part of civilization, a common interest which individuals unite to preserve. He said that “The power of this community is then set up as ‘right’ in opposition to the power of the individual, which is condemned as ‘brute force.’” Freud acknowledged through this that a sense of community was necessary to preserve civilization. Freud still valued the self-preservation of the individual and the struggle against injustice, stating that “The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization. It was greatest before there was any civilization, though then, it is true, it had for the most part no value, since the individual was scarcely in a position to defend it.”
In terms of the psychological effects and impact of the first World War on society, Remarque and Freud differ in their views of the natural tendency toward war. From his writing in All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque seems to view war as unnatural. An example of this is “We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation.” Remarque views human behavior as more advanced than that of the animals and beasts, and his comparison with animals is a criticism of how far from natural human behavior the soldiers have fallen. Freud also compared animal-like behavior with conflict in his book, posing the question, “Why do our relatives, the animals, not exhibit any such cultural struggle?” Unlike Remarque, Freud seems to view animal behavior as less aggressive, more balanced, than human behavior. Freud believed, too, that the suppression of a natural instinct toward conflict would increase the potential outburst of aggression in society: “Conversely, any restriction of this aggressiveness directed outwards would be bound to increase the self destruction, which is in any case proceeding.” At the time he wrote Civilization and its Discontents, Freud noted the underlying anti-semitism that was becoming prevalent in relation to German aggression, which influenced his pessimism in this viewpoint on the inevitability of war.
In conclusion, the effects of World War I, in terms of the use of technology for increased combat, the psychological effects on the individuals involved in the conflict, and the effects on the society at home, can be seen as a profound event that had a strong influence on all the individuals, societies and countries involved. The psychological effects of the first World War are reflected in literature through Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, a story of the individual involved in war, and the psychological effects are reflected on the influence on Sigmund Freud in Civilization and its Discontents.