For Christmas my wife gave me a book, the cover is reproduced here, which I just finished reading today. Louis Barthas kept a detailed diary during the four long years he spent in the trenches at various locations along the Western Front in France from 1914 to 1918, surviving in conditions of extreme hardship and misery. This must be one of the most powerful books ever written about the absolute stupidity, the supreme idiocy of war and bloodshed as an alternative to actually solving problems using intelligence and compassion. Barthas narrowly escaped death on several occasions, experiences which he relates with a certain mystical awe tempered by the unshakable pragmatism that is perhaps the most striking aspect of his narrative style. His accounts of how the troops were treated worse than farm animals as they were led to be slaughtered during the entire duration of the conflict can only leave one aghast at the monstruous barbarity of the commanding leadership on both sides.
.Shocking also is the passage about how a short period of fraternization between French and German troops across narrowly separated front lines was brutally suppressed and punished... and then the example set by a French officer who lured a German into showing himself thinking a friendly gesture was being made, and proceeded to shoot the German through the head.
.Although this book was published in 1978, as far as I can tell after searching on the internet, it has not been translated yet into English. I would love to accomplish that task, and would do it with great affection for the memory of Louis Barthas, if I were not currently so occupied with trying to make a living to survive myself, in another form of trench warfare which is the modern business world.... sigh... maybe someday. But if your French is up to it, this book is well worth the reading time, on a par with "All Quiet On The Western Front", by Erich Maria Remarque.
.
Posts
3 comments:
This is what you read for pleasure? Sorry, I'm just not into suffering, even second hand. The newspaper tells me far more than I want to know about the evils in the world; I try really hard not to find it in books.
I wouldn't say I read books like this one for "pleasure", but more out of compassion for people like Louis Barthas, who suffered tremendously, yet was able to write compellingly about his experiences, and out of a passion for the history involved here, alot of which took place very near to where we live. We must not forget what transpired, and through better understanding history, perhaps in some small way we can voice our repugnance for what caused the events to happen, and thus work toward ending such madness. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, for me it was a real eye opener to what the World War One troops daily existence involved, versus the glossed over versions in the "official" publications.
I do see what you mean about understanding to prevent it happening again.
Post a Comment