This piece examines the Walter Roy, Kurt Peterson and Hero Hellwich sources from
Witkop’s German Students’ War Letters.1 This piece attempts to argue that the letters
convey values that try to paint the soldiers as principled heroes undertaking personal
odysseys, making sacrifices for the benefit of the German fatherland, Kaiser and the close
people in the soldiers’ personal lives. The letters reflect editorial choices in selecting specific
letters and state funded ideology because the collection was state permitted. The soldiers in
the corpus are unrepresentative of the German army as they were all young, are dead and
well-educated. However, the fact there are so many letters from the educated elite could
imply to people reading the first or second German publications in the interwar period,
universality in thought existed among German soldiers. Alternatively, editorial hopes may
have focussed upon presenting the soldiers as paragons of a soldier’s values or attitudes,
instead of as the common, representative soldier. These values range from patriotism and
comradeship, to admiration for nature and defending loved ones.
Walter Roy wrote two letters that this piece will analyse. 2 The first dates to the first
few months of the Great War. The second was written before Roy’s battalion launched a
strategic attack on the French in April 1915, in which Roy died. In the first letter, Roy wrote
that patriotism provided the reason for his continued war enthusiasm. The harsh reality of
war dominated his mind, over thoughts of admiration for nature, appreciation for the arts
and indulgence in romance. Roy anticipated sacrificing his life to defend Germany and the
Kaiser. He acknowledged his life’s brevity but justified his potentially early death through
appealing to his contentment for the beauty and purity he found from his loved ones. The
second letter informs Roy’s family of his recent death, penned beforehand by Roy. The letter
acknowledges that Roy not only served out of patriotism, but also out of a wish to defend
his loved ones. The letter reaffirms Roy’s love for, and thanks and blesses, his family and
Germany.
Roy conveyed his strong patriotism that primarily motivated him to fight. The first
letter dates to 1914, 2 years before Germany instigated conscription. Thus, Roy clearly acted
upon his patriotic beliefs, as he was one of the ‘Kaiser’s men’, a war volunteer. By stating
‘the only thing now that. . . inspires. . . is love for the German Fatherland’, it becomes clear
that this soldier’s impetus for fighting chiefly originated from the need to defend king and
country. Roy declared ‘I might give my life for our Germany’, explicitly highlighting the
intense nature of his patriotism that justified making the ultimate sacrifice. Thus, Roy as a
member of Witkop’s paradigm soldiers proudly expressed patriotic fervour. Witkop may
have selected letters in favour of this value when compiling this corpus, to satisfy the state
authorities whom had supported his requests for the collection.
Roy expressed admiration for nature, implying that the he had heuristic disposition.
Prioritising volunteering for the war over his personal freedom to enjoy nature adds to a
sense of his inherent benevolence as a soldier because of the sacrifice involved. Mentioning
the past ‘free, sunshiny, enchanting summer’ associates freedom with his joyous life before
the war, and metaphorically the summer or peak of his life, which he sacrificed for the sake
1
Philipp Witkop, A. F. Wedd and J. M. Winter, German Students’ War Letters (Philadelphia: Pine St. Books,
2002).
2
Ibid, pp. 69.
, of the Fatherland. This adds to the sense of the soldier’s innocence and personal value.
Perhaps Witkop selected this letter because he similarly revered nature, as Jay Winter in the
introduction acknowledges Witkop’s philosophical academic life.3 Thus, possibly Witkop
wished to mould civilians’ attitudes to his own, or perhaps including this was simply the
effect of a bias towards what he could understand and respect as an academic.
Roy’s letters convey a soldier’s determination to defend their loved ones. Confessing
that he would ‘like to dream about you’, Roy revealed a wish to spend time feeling love. His
incapacity to do so was due to the all-consuming nature of war at the front. Although war
obstructed indulgence in or preoccupation with love, historians agree that love for soldiers’
correspondents provided soldiers with energy throughout the war to continue fighting.
Thus, when weary with war, soldiers nobly continued to fight to defend those dear to them.
This personal dynamic strengthened their resolve in times of low morale. Defending the
people soldiers cared about implies virtue and continuing to do so despite the horrors of
war indicates the sacrifices made by soldiers for the benefit of others.
Peterson wrote the next letter after the Battle of the Yser, near the beginning of the
war in October 1914.4 The letter describes the author’s perception or experience of the
battle and expresses horror at the consequential death toll. Thus, the letter has value as a
soldier’s account of the battle. The author channelled his anger at the loss of life into an
argument against war itself, thus the letter has a pacifist tone. The letter praises nature and
culture, invokes divine assistance for the soldier’s survival, and recognises that the war has
matured him. The letter conveys a deep sense of love to Peterson’s parents.
This letter conveys the value of conveying one’s personal trials and horror for war
through letters, so that soldiers could process inhumane aspects of war. Peterson noted the
high figures of the recently injured or dead and grieved that people were ‘slaughtering
thousands of other human beings whom they neither . . . hate nor love’. Listing the sacrifices
made focusses attention upon the despair of soldiers, whom felt naked and defenceless to
attacks. The soldier’s condemnation of mass, impersonal killings as heinous slaughter adds
to perception of the soldier’s humanity. It is clear he genuinely cares about the value of
human life, whilst maturely accepting his vulnerability also to death. Historical literature has
praised the depictions of battle and soldiers’ moving troubles and noted the utility of letters
as a tool for processing horrors.5 Thus, this letter acknowledges soldiers’ challenges in losing
comrades, fear in battles and in accepting one’s own imminent death. Perhaps taking time
to process horror was the most important value, as horrors in war were a universal
experience for soldiers and it was imperative that soldiers psychologically processed them
for their mental well-being.
This letter demonstrates soldiers as being principled in political thought. Peterson’s
passionate declaration ‘away with war!’ testified to his disillusionment with war, although it
is clear he continued fighting for the defence of the nation. The letter offers a pacifist,
morally virtuous, political view. On one hand Jarausch acknowledged this professed pacifism
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid, pp. 149.
5
Wolfgang G. Natter, Literature at War, 1914- 1940 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999).
