Heeresbericht

Köppen's novel "Heeresbericht" was never truly forgotten, but it likely takes the hype surrounding the anniversaries of World War I to bring attention back to the outstanding literary qualities of this most narratively advanced among anti-war novels. Köppen volunteered in 1914, suffered both a gunshot wound and a psychological trauma, and refused further service before the war ended in 1918, which led to his confinement in a mental institution. The later author, journalist, and editor makes his main character endure this fate, countering it with a montage of real and fictional documents that highlight the madness of war and the propagandistic war fervor.