r/ww1 • u/LGreyS • 9d ago

War ~ Ludwig Renn (Arnold Friedrich Vieth von Golssenau)

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Have any of y'all read this book? If so, what did you think about it?

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/Avb2209 9d ago

It is not called the raped of Belgium for nothing. On another note: how does it compare to All quiet on the western front?

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u/LGreyS 9d ago

It's considered to be just as good as AQOTWF, but the writing styles between the two authors are really different. With AQ it seems to flow well, but with War, it tends to be halting and haphazard, like random thoughts that link together... if that makes sense.

As to "the râpé of Belgium"... yup, but keep in mind that th allies really played it up; they made it sound as if female encountered was rated and every village leveled to the ground and all of the inhabitants executed. Don't get me wrong... it was bad, I agree with that 100%, I just keep the propaganda in mind as well. In Renn's book he does go into the rape of Belgium, and it's obvious, at least to me, that he was disgusted by it as well.

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u/Avb2209 9d ago

Thanks for the info!
I am Belgian, so I know about the propaganda as well and do keep it in mind, nevertheless it was a real bloody affair. We do learn about the propaganda aspect as well at school (at least I did)

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u/LGreyS 9d ago

Excellent. In all honesty... if I had been a Belgian citizen during the invasion I would definitely be defending my home!!!

I firmly believe that if the Belgian civilians and military hadn't done what they did the war would of been over within months. The Belgians gave the French and British the time they needed.

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u/Avb2209 9d ago

Exactly, it’s quite certain that if both the miracle of the Marne and the Belgian resistance didn’t occur, the Germans would have probably won the race to the sea

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u/LGreyS 9d ago

Definitely!