Happy birthday, Ernst Jünger

It is the birthday of German writer Ernst Jünger (1895), who was a towering figure in German literature for more than half a century. Jünger self-published his first book, Storm of Steel (1920) when he was in his 20s. It is a memoir of his experiences as a German officer on the Western Front during World War I. Jünger was known for his right-wing views and his belief that war created a mystical experience for the soldier. As Adolph Hitler rose to power, Jünger kept his distance from the Nazi Party, though he didn't openly criticize it. He served as an officer in Paris during the occupation, where he met such artists as Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso. Jünger never retracted anything he wrote but in later years he said Germany's ideology of war before and after World War I was a mistake. His writing was very popular in France, and he drew admirers from around the world, including French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 1987, at age 101, Jünger converted to Catholicism. Among his best known books are The Adventurous Heart (1929), On Nationalism and the Jewish Question (1930), The Worker (1932), On the Marble Cliffs (1939), Gardens and Streets (1942), The Peace (1947), Reflections (1948), The Glass Bees (1957), Approaches (1970), and Visit to Godenholm (1952). Jünger published on into the 1980s.

Shirer covered Hitler's rise in Nazi Germany

It is the birthday of journalist William L. Shirer (1904), who is best remembered for his history of Nazi Germany, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960). Shirer was a correspondent in Europe for the Chicago Tribune, then the International News Service. Edward R. Murrow hired him to help him cover Europe for CBS radio in the early days of broadcast journalism. Shirer remained in Germany during Adolph Hitler's rise to power and at the beginning of World War II, where he witnessed and reported on the growth of the Nazi dictatorship. After the war, Shirer advocated for a harsh treatment of Germany. He narrated this film of captured Nazi propaganda for the Army Navy Screen Magazine, a program that was shown to American soldiers overseas. The program was supervised by famed Hollywood director Frank Capra.

Herbert von Karajan, greatest conductor

It is the birthday (April 5) of Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908), one of the greatest orchestra conductors of all time. Critics note that he was a member of the Nazi Party but defenders point out that he was neither willing nor active, and that there may have been shenanigans regarding the records of his membership. His prominence rose after World War II. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years. He may have been the best-selling classical music artist of all time. Here is Tchaikovsky's entire Symphony No. 6. It is long but it is beautifully photographed and a stunning portrait of von Karajan as a conductor. Enjoy!

Ernst Jünger, conservative philosopher

Ernst Jünger

It is the birthday of German writer Ernst Jünger (1895), whose best known work, Storm of Steel (1920), is his personal account of his experiences as a German officer on the Western Front during World War I. It is a particularly graphic work, especially when depicting the horrors of trench warfare. Still, it is considered a book that glorifies war, and raises the life of a soldier to a mystical experience. It has undergone as many as seven revisions, some toning down the graphic details of the war. It was first published in English in 1929. After the war, Jünger kept his distance from the Nazi Party as it rose to power but he did serve in the German Army, and was stationed in Paris, where he hobnobbed with artistic luminaries such as Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso. He was a prolific writer, producing more than 50 books, including several diaries. He became known as a conservative philosopher and was greatly admired by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President Françios Mitterrand. Jünger used mescaline, ether, hashish, cocaine and LSD. He was a friend of Albert Hofmann, who invented LSD, and took it with him several times. When he was 89, he said the ideology of war in Germany before and after World War I was  "a calamitous mistake." He lived to be 102.