German Hysteria During the First World War
For my first post in the new "era" of my blog, I have decided to start with something I learned about in school...shell shock. Most of you have likely heard of it, simply put, it's the precursor to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Shell shock was seen as a type of male hysteria that emerged during the First World War. But, rather than focus on how the Allies treated shell shock, I am going to look at it in the German context.
What is Shell Shock / Hysterical Neurosis
Like Canadians, when the First World War broke out, Germans were excited - go on an adventure, meet new people, and get paid while you're doing it. And you'd be home by Christmas.
This exuberance quickly faded when their rapid advance on the front lines was stopped and fighting became more difficult and deadly. The soldiers began to suffer from "debilitating shakes, stutters, tics and tremors, and dramatic disorders of sight, hearing, and gait." This caught medical personnel completely off guard.
Before the war, some men had hysteric fits but it was usually associated with women and more volatile people - which at this point in history was associated with the French. When it was associated with men, it tended to be related to industrial or railway accidents/incidents. This situation was threatening the stability and morale of the Germany army.
This condition was initially called "shell shock" by the British (we would recognize it now as a form of PTSD). The term first appeared in The Lancet, a British medical journal, in 1915 and the doctor writing the piece believed the condition was due to physical damage caused by shells. For example, the difficulty walking and keeping one's balance could be caused by inner ear damage.
The above video shows what shell shock/hysterical neurosis looked like. It also refers to "re-education" and "treatment" but doesn't elaborate.
While doctors of the time did, rather quickly, come to the correct conclusion that this was an issue based in the patient's mind and not their body, they didn't exactly arrive at the correct conclusion of why this condition existed. Today, we understand that experiences can have a profound, and sometimes profoundly negative, impact on individuals, such is the case for PTSD. During the First World War, doctors and psychiatrists, on both sides of the war,
In other words, it wasn't seeing your comrades die or experiencing the horror of war on a scale that didn't exist in previous conflicts, it was the desire to go home with a pension that was causing physical symptoms. As a result, treatments that were uncommon or banned - such as hypnosis, electric current, suggestion, and isolation - were re-adapted to treat patients and seemed to be effective. Doctors who hadn't bothered with neurosis before the war were suddenly studying it and leading teams in special war hysteria stations that were designed to "systematically strip(ped) soldiers of their symptoms and sent them to work in factories or on farms." This was done, not so much out of a concern for their soldiers but to ensure the pension system for wounded soldiers was not overburdened.
Studying Hysteria
The French and Germans didn't use the term shell shock, they usually referred to this phenomenon as a form of male hysteria, or hysterical neurosis.
Hysteria being diagnosed in men was becoming more common in the 1880's, usually to railway and factory workers. However, by diagnosing these men with hysteria, the "problem" shifted from being working conditions or incidents to an issue in the individual's mind. This made it easy to dismiss the issue or blame the individual and believe they were weak. Although hysteria was usually associated with women, men could be diagnosed. The difference was when men were diagnosed they were seen as lazy, selfish, and unpatriotic.
But, psychologists in Germany were torn on the diagnosis. At the core of their debate seems to be a belief that these soldiers were just trying to get pensions by claiming war injuries, and these are the doctors who won the debate.
It is also important to note that the study of hysteria wasn't very common until men were being diagnosed more frequently.
German Treatments
Soldiers suffering from hysterical neurosis would first go to the field hospital, where they could be sent farther behind the front lines for treatment.
So what were the treatments? As you are reading these, remember that some of these were used by the Allies as well.
- Fake/phony surgeries (make soldiers believe they had surgery to fix what was wrong with them)
- Hypnosis
- Surprise stimuli
- Electrotherapy
- Placing a metal ball on the larynx until they scream
- Recreate battlefield sounds in a therapy room
In Germany, more than 100,000 soldiers were sent to field hospitals in just the first year of the Great War with hysterical symptoms. Hysterical neurosis was seen as unpatriotic and something only weak men, like the French, suffered from. These men were usually not sent back to the front. Rather they received harsh treatments and were sent to work in the industrial sector. However, life for those working in the industrial sector was not free or pleasant. Life was extremely regimented and the doctors controlled essentially all aspects of the soldiers' day. These doctors were the physicians, teachers, and judges for thousands of men.
According to Paul Lerner, "in nearly all cases, it was the suggestive effect that the doctor produced, rather than the material properties of the treatment, which was seen as the therapeutic agent." Think of it this way, and obviously I am simplifying it a lot, if a soldier was hit by shrapnel the issue was fairly clear. But, if you don't know what's wrong with you, can't communicate it, and your doctors may not believe you, it is a lot harder. From the doctors' standpoint, they need to convince you that you are okay. If you can't talk, find a way to get you to make some type of sound and that was the proof you were fine. If you can't hear but react to sound (for example, jumping in fright/shock due to a loud bang) then you were "expected to regain" your hearing.
Some doctors working with these men claimed their methods were working. Psychiatrist Robert Sommer claimed that after surprising a man the following reaction occurred:
Initially, this verse was to appeal to German monarchs. But, it also appealed to Hitler and the Nazi's who made this verse Germany's national anthem. So the song itself has an interesting history.
In the case of the hysterical neurosis, the patient singing the song (assuming this patriotic story happened and was not exaggerated in some way) was displaying his patriotic feelings by singing that particular song.
By 1917, believing they had found the cure for hysterical neurosis, they began to focus on how quickly they could treat soldiers and get them back to the battlefield - they were at war after all. Therefore, soldiers were usually treated reasonably close to the front lines so there was a higher chance they would return to active service.
Not all treatments were horrible. There are also records of doctors giving soldiers rewards for meeting certain goals, such as a message, visitors, or progress related pay. But, that being said, it was not incredible common.
However, no country or army had a peaceful solution to treat shell shock/hysterical neurosis during the First World War. One of the French treatments including sending electric shocks through limbs that weren't working or through the tongue if they couldn't speak.
Some, such as Paul Lerner, argue that the way these men were treated and the lessons learned in treating them (i.e. control and persuasion) played an important role in creating a patriotic and pro-fascist state in Germany after the First World War.
Sources:
Blakemore, E. "When Germany Called Its Soldiers Hysterical." JSTOR Daily June 24, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/when-germany-called-its-soldiers-hysterical/
Grogan, S. "Shell Shock" Wasn't Just a Problem for the British Army During the First World War. Military History Now. June 11, 2014.
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2014/06/11/shell-shock-wasnt-just-a-problem-for-the-british-army-during-the-first-world-war/
Lerner, P. Hysterical Men: War, Psychiatry, and the Politics of Trauma in Germany, 1890-1930. London: Cornell University Press, 2003.
Lerner, Paul. "Psychiatry and Casualties of War in Germany, 1914-18." Journal of Contemporary History 35, no. 1 (2000): 13-28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/261178.
What is Shell Shock / Hysterical Neurosis
Like Canadians, when the First World War broke out, Germans were excited - go on an adventure, meet new people, and get paid while you're doing it. And you'd be home by Christmas.
This exuberance quickly faded when their rapid advance on the front lines was stopped and fighting became more difficult and deadly. The soldiers began to suffer from "debilitating shakes, stutters, tics and tremors, and dramatic disorders of sight, hearing, and gait." This caught medical personnel completely off guard.
Before the war, some men had hysteric fits but it was usually associated with women and more volatile people - which at this point in history was associated with the French. When it was associated with men, it tended to be related to industrial or railway accidents/incidents. This situation was threatening the stability and morale of the Germany army.
This condition was initially called "shell shock" by the British (we would recognize it now as a form of PTSD). The term first appeared in The Lancet, a British medical journal, in 1915 and the doctor writing the piece believed the condition was due to physical damage caused by shells. For example, the difficulty walking and keeping one's balance could be caused by inner ear damage.
The above video shows what shell shock/hysterical neurosis looked like. It also refers to "re-education" and "treatment" but doesn't elaborate.
While doctors of the time did, rather quickly, come to the correct conclusion that this was an issue based in the patient's mind and not their body, they didn't exactly arrive at the correct conclusion of why this condition existed. Today, we understand that experiences can have a profound, and sometimes profoundly negative, impact on individuals, such is the case for PTSD. During the First World War, doctors and psychiatrists, on both sides of the war,
"asserted that the possibility of escaping service and the desire for a pension, and not the material impact of industrial warfare, were to blame for these symptoms."
In other words, it wasn't seeing your comrades die or experiencing the horror of war on a scale that didn't exist in previous conflicts, it was the desire to go home with a pension that was causing physical symptoms. As a result, treatments that were uncommon or banned - such as hypnosis, electric current, suggestion, and isolation - were re-adapted to treat patients and seemed to be effective. Doctors who hadn't bothered with neurosis before the war were suddenly studying it and leading teams in special war hysteria stations that were designed to "systematically strip(ped) soldiers of their symptoms and sent them to work in factories or on farms." This was done, not so much out of a concern for their soldiers but to ensure the pension system for wounded soldiers was not overburdened.
Studying Hysteria
The French and Germans didn't use the term shell shock, they usually referred to this phenomenon as a form of male hysteria, or hysterical neurosis.
Hysteria being diagnosed in men was becoming more common in the 1880's, usually to railway and factory workers. However, by diagnosing these men with hysteria, the "problem" shifted from being working conditions or incidents to an issue in the individual's mind. This made it easy to dismiss the issue or blame the individual and believe they were weak. Although hysteria was usually associated with women, men could be diagnosed. The difference was when men were diagnosed they were seen as lazy, selfish, and unpatriotic.
But, psychologists in Germany were torn on the diagnosis. At the core of their debate seems to be a belief that these soldiers were just trying to get pensions by claiming war injuries, and these are the doctors who won the debate.
It is also important to note that the study of hysteria wasn't very common until men were being diagnosed more frequently.
German Treatments
Soldiers suffering from hysterical neurosis would first go to the field hospital, where they could be sent farther behind the front lines for treatment.
So what were the treatments? As you are reading these, remember that some of these were used by the Allies as well.
- Fake/phony surgeries (make soldiers believe they had surgery to fix what was wrong with them)
- Hypnosis
- Surprise stimuli
- Electrotherapy
- Placing a metal ball on the larynx until they scream
- Recreate battlefield sounds in a therapy room
In Germany, more than 100,000 soldiers were sent to field hospitals in just the first year of the Great War with hysterical symptoms. Hysterical neurosis was seen as unpatriotic and something only weak men, like the French, suffered from. These men were usually not sent back to the front. Rather they received harsh treatments and were sent to work in the industrial sector. However, life for those working in the industrial sector was not free or pleasant. Life was extremely regimented and the doctors controlled essentially all aspects of the soldiers' day. These doctors were the physicians, teachers, and judges for thousands of men.
According to Paul Lerner, "in nearly all cases, it was the suggestive effect that the doctor produced, rather than the material properties of the treatment, which was seen as the therapeutic agent." Think of it this way, and obviously I am simplifying it a lot, if a soldier was hit by shrapnel the issue was fairly clear. But, if you don't know what's wrong with you, can't communicate it, and your doctors may not believe you, it is a lot harder. From the doctors' standpoint, they need to convince you that you are okay. If you can't talk, find a way to get you to make some type of sound and that was the proof you were fine. If you can't hear but react to sound (for example, jumping in fright/shock due to a loud bang) then you were "expected to regain" your hearing.
Some doctors working with these men claimed their methods were working. Psychiatrist Robert Sommer claimed that after surprising a man the following reaction occurred:
"Immediately a joyful surprised utterance: 'I can hear again', [the patient] articulated softly but clearly. It was brought to his attention that he also could speak again; he repeated letters and words sporadically with partial phonation. By the end of the speech exercise he was softly singing along to Deutschland uber Alles."From what I could tell, and if anyone reading this happens to be from Germany please let me know, the first stanza of Deutschland uber Alles has been dropped. This is because the first stanza, in English, is:
Germany, Germany above all,
above all else in the world,
When it steadfastly holds together,
offensively and defensively,
with brotherhood.
From the Maas to the Memel,
from the Etsch to the [Little] Belt,
Germany, Germany above all,
above all else in the world.
above all else in the world,
When it steadfastly holds together,
offensively and defensively,
with brotherhood.
From the Maas to the Memel,
from the Etsch to the [Little] Belt,
Germany, Germany above all,
above all else in the world.
 |
| Hitler at a rally in 1933. He made the first verse of Deutschland uber Alles Germany's national anthem during his reign. (Image Credit) |
In the case of the hysterical neurosis, the patient singing the song (assuming this patriotic story happened and was not exaggerated in some way) was displaying his patriotic feelings by singing that particular song.
By 1917, believing they had found the cure for hysterical neurosis, they began to focus on how quickly they could treat soldiers and get them back to the battlefield - they were at war after all. Therefore, soldiers were usually treated reasonably close to the front lines so there was a higher chance they would return to active service.
Not all treatments were horrible. There are also records of doctors giving soldiers rewards for meeting certain goals, such as a message, visitors, or progress related pay. But, that being said, it was not incredible common.
However, no country or army had a peaceful solution to treat shell shock/hysterical neurosis during the First World War. One of the French treatments including sending electric shocks through limbs that weren't working or through the tongue if they couldn't speak.
Some, such as Paul Lerner, argue that the way these men were treated and the lessons learned in treating them (i.e. control and persuasion) played an important role in creating a patriotic and pro-fascist state in Germany after the First World War.
Sources:
Blakemore, E. "When Germany Called Its Soldiers Hysterical." JSTOR Daily June 24, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/when-germany-called-its-soldiers-hysterical/
Grogan, S. "Shell Shock" Wasn't Just a Problem for the British Army During the First World War. Military History Now. June 11, 2014.
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2014/06/11/shell-shock-wasnt-just-a-problem-for-the-british-army-during-the-first-world-war/
Lerner, P. Hysterical Men: War, Psychiatry, and the Politics of Trauma in Germany, 1890-1930. London: Cornell University Press, 2003.
Lerner, Paul. "Psychiatry and Casualties of War in Germany, 1914-18." Journal of Contemporary History 35, no. 1 (2000): 13-28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/261178.
Comments
Post a Comment