Sturm Quotes

“Today words like 'persevere' and 'hero’s death' had been so ceaselessly bandied about that they had long since acquired an ironic sound—at least wherever there was actual fighting. . . . Once, before an attack, Sturm had heard an old sergeant say the following: 'Kids, we’re going over there now to gobble up the Englishmen’s rations.' It was the best battle address that he had ever heard. That was surely something good in the war—that it destroyed glorious-sounding phrases. Concepts that hung fleshless in the void were overcome by laughter.”
― Ernst Jünger, Sturm

“The vastness and deadly desolation of the field, the long-distance operation of steel machines, and the relay of every movement in the night drew an unyielding Titan’s mask over the proceedings. You moved toward death without seeing it; you were hit without knowing where the shot came from. Long since had the precision shooting of the trained marksman, the direct fire of guns, and with it the charm of the duel, given way to the concentrated fire of mechanized weapons. The outcome was a game of numbers: Whoever could cover a certain number of square meters with the greater mass of artillery fire, won.”
― Ernst Jünger, Sturm

“La mécanisation de l'homme avait fait de l'Europe un désert.”
― Ernst Jünger, Sturm

“Toutes ces filles lui paraissaient d'étranges fleurs, artificieuses, s'appliquant à attirer par une débauche de parfums et de couleurs des essaims d'insectes féconds.”
― Ernst Jünger, Sturm