On Pain
Ernst Juenger (1895-1998) was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was a shock troop commander in the German Army during World War I, and for his service was awarded the Pour Le Merite, the highest Prussian military order. Juenger's memoir of the war,Storm of Steel, offers a gripping account of his experiences. During the Weimar Republic, Juenger was an outspoken conservative critic of the first German democracy, but never joined the Nazi party. In 1939, Juenger's novelOn the Marble Cliffsprovided an allegorical critique of the Hitler regime. One of the most controversial writers of twentieth-century Germany, Juenger received many literary prizes. He died at the age of 102 in Riedlingen.