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Loopgravenoorlog: 1914 1918 (1993)

by Jacques Tardi(Favorite Author)

4.14 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

9030384670 (ISBN13: 9789030384670)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Casterman

review 1: This is Tardi working at the absolute peak of his creative powers. The passion he derives from the subject matter -- the sheer waste, futility and stupidity of trench warfare; the arrogance and ignorance that resulted in the horrible deaths of millions over the five year span of WWI; the stupid old fucks who gave the orders from an aristocrat's mansion a mile away, watching through spyglasses and talking about 'the glory of battle' and 'the burden of leadership' -- is reflected in the artwork. Tardi is no slouch, but his use of tones and textures here is exquisite, allowing him to portray the muck and slime and rotting corpses with a level of detail that he usually avoided. This is the masterpiece of an artist who is among the sequential art elite.[P.S.: Reading some of th... moree other reviews, the question was raised of how anyone could have lived through the sheer horror of the trenches and still be hungry enough for battle to start WWII? Who would want a rematch? As is always the case, the 'loser' of the first fight. There are very few things worse than the butchery of war, seeing men's lives sold so cheaply... except knowing that it was all for nothing. The loss made the horror of it all that much worse. And it made veterans defensive and insecure. Otto Dix spoke about his experiences in WWI as if it were a rite of manhood, an inevitable test of the steel in one's soul. But his art told another story: 'Trench', his tryptychs from the early 30's, and his many paintings of the legless, armless, grievously deformed war vets who were a constant reminder of Germany's futile sacrifices, all seem to indicate that WWI was much more than an education or crucible. The person most responsible for WWII was another veteran of the trenches, a war hero and stretcher bearer who couldn't let the humiliation Germany suffered at the treaty of Versailles go unanswered. To be clear: Hitler was not admirable, and his cause was not just. But I think much of his appeal to the German people related to his understanding of the way that WWI gnawed at the sleeping minds of veterans, made them imagine people saw them with accusing eyes, thought them to be cowards who had surrendered Germany's honor, and worse, betrayed the men whose bones still littered the battlefield. Hitler promised them a chance to avenge the 'betrayal' of Versailles, and a chance to restore German pride. I think WWII and the genocidal madness of the Third Reich could have been avoided if it weren't for the ridiculously harsh demands of Article 231, the notorious 'War Guilt Clause': military disarmament, the loss of territory, and forced reparations that would have amounted to nearly half-a-trillion dollars US in today's currency. The economic drain of WWI was exacerbated by Article 231, sending Germany into a financial crisis. There was a pervasive opinion in the Weimar years that the nation had been betrayed by its leaders. It was believed that after a long stalemate, German politicians had surrendered while the military had been determined to fight. Rich and powerful Jewish interests were at the center of a conspiracy theory that implicated them as scapegoats.In reality, Germany had been beaten. The Hundred Days Offensive launched by the Allies had decisively crushed the Germans on the Western front; the worsening economy led to massive worker strikes that shut down much of the necessary production; desertion was weakening the army, the Imperial German Navy suffered a mutiny at Kiel, and this triggered further domestic chaos and the 'German Revolution'. Blaming rich Jews and foreigners was preferable to facing such ugly truths.The Treaty of Versailles served to nurture a seething resentment among the German people, and inflicted economic injuries that aggravated the insults, but were not enough to cripple the nation's ability to rebuild itself militarily. I wonder, if the treaty had been done differently, allowing Germany to retain some modicum of its wounded pride, would it have been enough to keep the national socialists from rising to power? Would it have been enough to prevent WWII? Or would the 'losers' have still wanted their 'rematch'?]
review 2: Not my favorite. Probably hard for it for it to work for me since I have read "All Quiet on the Western Front" and that describes WWI magnificently. I didn't like that Tardi would describe emotions and motivations that would only be known to the person in the situation. It didn't work for me in this book. It just felt like a lazy short cut to get us to care about the characters and try to provide some meaning and context. less

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