Mentally Traumatized Officers of World War One in Germany

• Applicant: Dr. Gundula Gahlen
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2012 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 228055824

German officers who became mentally ill during, or because of their deployment in World War One form the subject of this research project. The study analyzes the war experiences of these officers, their medical treatment and the effects of their illness on their career, their life-path and their self image. The discourses concerning the mentally ill officers in various social groups, in the military, in the medical fraternity and in the public at large, form a further topic of investigation. The analysis will show how and why the categories of meaning within which their mental illness was understood changed from 1914 to 1939 and the consequences these changes had on the careers of the officers. In doing so, the study analyzes the officers‘ position among the mentally traumatized soldiers as well as their position in the officer corps. With regard to the so called war neurotics, the analysis will clarify to what extent these officers were allocated a special position in the military. With reference to the officer corps, the research project will analyze the opinion of the military elite as well as the public about the effect of mental trauma on officers capability to fulfill their duties. Located between medicine and military history, this study will reveal new insights into the development of the relationship of German society to war and mental illnesses and into the values and the inner workings of the military in Germany between the beginning of World War One and the beginning of World War Two.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants