Ernst Juenger

Ernst Juenger. Photo credit-Ernst Juenger from Wikimedia Commons

10 Best Facts about Ernst Jünger


 

Ernst Jünger was a prominent German author cum soldier. He also had a passion for entomology. In his capacity as a writer, he is celebrated for his Storm of Steel memoir published in 1920.

Furthermore, while serving as a soldier, he rose to high-ranking positions in the German Army. Hence he received many decorations during his military service. One such was the acclaimed Pour le Mérite awarded to him in 1918.

Jünger’s enthusiasm for entomology earned him an entomological prize named in his honor, the Ernst-Jünger-Preis für Entomologie. Learn more about him with the below facts.

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Here are 10 top truths about Ernst Jünger.

1. Ernst Jünger was born in South West Germany

Heidelberg castle

Heidelberg castle by Reinhard Wolf from Wikimedia Commons

The author was born in Heidelberg in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in South West Germany on 29 March 1895. His father was Ernst Georg Jünger, an engineer. His mother’s name was Karoline Lampl. Jünger was the firstborn out of six children and two of his siblings died while still infants.

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2. Ernst Jünger’s passion to write began when he was in school

He attended school in Hannover from 1901 to 1905. Afterward, he joined boarding school until 1907. His family lived in Rehburg at the time, so he rejoined them and moved to a school in Wunstorf. He studied there from 1907 to 1912.

Moreover, in September 1909 he had the chance to go for a student exchange program in France. While in school, he became interested in adventure novels and entomology writings. This sparked his desire to become an author.

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3. His first write-up was poetry

Jünger’s early attempt at writing was in poetry. Thus he published his first poem in November 1911 with Gaublatt für Hannoverland.

4. Ernst Jünger fought the First and Second World Wars

Ernst Jünger

Ernst Jünger in 1920 by an Unknown author from Wikimedia Commons

Jünger decided to be part of WWI as a volunteer when Germany joined the war on 1 August 1914. He fought in Champagne which was part of the Western Front in December 1914. The war ended in 1918.

In World War II (1939 to 1945), Jünger was an army captain deployed in occupied Paris. Yet by 1943, he was no longer a total supporter of the Nazi world conquest mission.

Subsequently, he wrote his book Der Friede (The Peace) in 1943 and published it in 1948. Following these events, he was dismissed from the army in August 1944.

5. His war wounds earned him many military decorations

Ernst Jünger

Ernst Jünger wearing his military decorations by an Unknown author from Wikimedia Commons

Jünger’s first war wounding happened in April 1915. After the incident, he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant on 27 November 1915.

The second wound was inflicted by shrapnel during the Battle of the Somme. In November 1916 he was hurt for the third time. After this, Ernst earned the Iron Cross First Class decoration in January 1917.

Spring of 1917, he was promoted to commander of seven company troops. While he led his team in the Battle of Cambrai (1917) he sustained two wounds from a gunshot. Afterward, he was awarded, the House Order of Hohenzollern.

On top of that, he received a chest and minor head gun wound during Operation Michael on 19 March 1918. His final wounding came on 25 August 1918 during fights near Favreuil. He was shot in the lung and hospitalized in a Hannover hospital.

Later he was recognized with the Wound Badge 1st Class and Pour le Mérite. The latter merit came on 22 September 1918. He went on to serve in higher ranks like an army captain in WWII. In such roles, he was tasked with administrative responsibilities and not front-line combat.

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6. Ernst Jünger was deposed from military service in 1944

Towards the end of World War II in August 1944, he was dismissed from the force. This was because of his quest for peace with other like-minded persons.

Additionally, Ernst created the 1943 Der Friede (The Peace) proposal. It was intended to be given to the Allies after the successful demise of Hitler or his removal from power. Thus Jünger and those involved in plotting the fall of Hitler were punished for an attempted assassination. That was the cause of his dismissal from the military.

7. He practiced entomology

He read entomological journals and between January and July of 1917, he was involved in collecting beetles. Since he was still in military service at the time, he collected the beetles from trenches while on patrol.

Ernst managed to gather over 100 specimens which he gave the scientific classification, Fauna coleopterologica douchyensis.

Over and above that, he underwent studies in marine biology, zoology, and botany. This established him as a professional entomologist.

He was acclaimed in the field in Germany, and the Ernst-Jünger-Preis für Entomologie was named after him. It’s an important prize in Germany’s entomological space.

8. Jünger Ernst published his first book in 1920

 Ernst Jünger's Gläserne Bienen

Front cover of the first edition of Ernst Jünger’s 1957 Gläserne Bienen (The Glass Bees) by Albrecht Ade from Wikimedia Commons

Storm of Steel was one of his most famous writing. It was inspired by his diary thoughts that he penned throughout World War I. It told the narrative of the Western Front action from December 1914 to August 1918.

The book was grouped as an anti-war novel because it showed the reader the horrors of war. Further, described psychological traumas and injuries endured by the German soldiers. But according to critics, the book takes no clear stand on the effects of war.

Thereafter Ernst published books like War as an Inner Experience (1922), Fire and Blood in 1925, The Glass Bees in 1957, and more. He also created novels, essays, and short story collections. He wrote throughout his life.

Over the years, his works have been collected and edited in various volumes by different authors. There have also been posthumous edits done.

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9. He married Gretha in 1925

Gretha von Jeinsen was Jünger’s wife from 1925 until she died in 1960. They had two sons, Ernst Jr. and  Alexander. After the death of Gretha, he married Liselotte Lohrer in 1962. They remained together until his death.

10. Ernst Jünger lived over 100 years

He died on 17 February 1998 at the age of 102 years. Though at his demise, his sons had already died. Ernst Jünger Jr. who was born on 1 May 1926, died on 29 November 1944 as a cadet in the navy. His younger son Alexander Jünger was born in 1934. He was a physician and died on 9 March 1993 by suicide.

Ernst Jünger was banned from publishing in Germany for four years after the Second World War. This was a result of his refusal to submit to denazification. It aimed at getting rid of the Nazi ideology in the culture, politics, judiciary, and press of the Germans.

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