A review by acciodawn
Draußen vor der Tür by Wolfgang Borchert

5.0

Once again I am grateful that I’ve come across a wonderful literary work at university. I had to read this play for my German Literature after the Second World War class. I’ve read Wilfred Owen poems and a little of Ernst Jünger’s “Storm of Steel,” but these tackle the First World War. This play captures the guilt of a German soldier returning home perfectly. He does not want to carry the responsibility of the horrid crimes he’s committed, and he is gaslighted by the Colonel who sent him to war. His trauma and PTSD are made fun of, most poignantly after the scene where he relates his horrid dream of playing an instrument made of bones. I think I will always remember that sequence because it is harrowing but also manages to convey to readers what it’s like to fight it the war and to return home and have to deal with the after effects and the sleepless nights. Out of the many works after the war that I will be reading this semester, this one will definitely stay with me.