Storm of Steel

Storm of Steel (German: In Stahlgewittern, lit. 'In Steel Thunderstorms'; original English title: In Storms of Steel) is the memoir of German officer Ernst Jünger's experiences on the Western Front during the First World War from December 1914 to August 1918. It was originally printed privately in 1920, making it one of the first personal accounts to be published. The book is a graphic account of trench warfare. It was largely devoid of editorialization when first published, but was heavily revised several times. The book established Jünger's fame as a writer in the 1920s. The judgment of contemporaries and later critics reflects the ambivalence of the work, which describes the war in all its brutality, but neither expressly condemns it nor goes into its political causes. It can be read affirmatively, neutrally or as an anti-war book.