Die Archive des Chronisten
Ernst Jüngers Werke und Korrespondenzen
[The Chronicler’s Archive. Ernst Jünger’s Works and Correspondence]

Many of Ernst Jünger’s works are based on letters. In his diaries and writings, Jünger relies on correspondence which he passed down in an archive comprising approximately 130.000 letters that, until today, has remained largely unexplored. This archive of letters contains information from all phases of German history in the 20th century, a period that Jünger was involved in like few other authors. As a collector and writer, he was guided by a universal-historical practice of chronicling that draws on insights from anthropology and natural history.

In four biographical and work-historical analyses, Detlev Schöttker explores the interrelationship between Jünger’s diaries, writings, and correspondence. In addition to the much-read diary chronicles In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel, 1920), Strahlungen (1942–1958), and Siebzig verweht (1980–2003), the book examines other chronistic works, including the autobiographical essay collection Das Abenteuerliche Herz (The Adventurous Heart, 1929 and 1938), the treatise Der Arbeiter (The Worker, 1932), the story Auf den Marmorklippen (On the Marble Cliffs, 1939), the natural-historical account An der Zeitmauer (1959), and the novel Eumeswil (1977). Thus, this volume offers new insights into the basic understanding of Jünger’s works.