Briefe, Aufzeichnungen und Aphorismen. Erster Band

In this first volume the reader is invited into the day‑to‑day world of a young officer stationed on the Western Front in 1914. Through a series of candid letters, terse field notes, and reflective aphorisms, he chronicles everything from the eerie beauty of an autumn night sky to the relentless grind of patrols, rationed meals, and the ever‑present threat of artillery fire. His voice swings between dry humor about the monotony of guard duty and vivid, almost lyrical descriptions of the scarred landscape and the nervous tension that hangs over the troops.

The collection also reveals the soldier’s attempts to preserve a sense of normalcy—stealing fruit from trees, sharing wine, and clinging to small comforts like a strong coffee in a field flask. At the same time, it offers a stark window into the psychological adjustments required by the front: brief, fragmented sleep, the lingering smell of death, and a growing reliance on routine to stay alive. Together, these fragments paint a raw, intimate portrait of life at the edge of the Great War, inviting listeners to hear history through the eyes of someone who lived it.