Georges Ohnet: The thunderbolt of war

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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts

French writers on war and peace

Georges Ohnet: Better to erect statues to those who preserve than those who take life

Georges Ohnet: Pillaging in the wake of victorious armies

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Georges Ohnet
Doctor Rameau
Translated by J. C. Curtin

The existence of this family…passed in peace and happiness, when the Franco-German war broke out like a thunderbolt. In an instant all the joyousness of life was changed. The city, so brilliant, luxurious, became a vast camp. The fêtes were succeeded by the clash of arms. The feverish agitation which always precedes battle and the stunning stupor that follows defeat, took possession of that population so habituated to universal idolatry, and so confident of its own invincibility. Wounded pride was transformed into fury. Unable to repel the invasion, the Parisians overthrew the empire. In default of a victory, they inaugurated a revolution. A certain portion of the population approved of it. A wave descended from Belleville to Montmartre, rolled through the muddy quarters of the capital, smashing the imperial eagles and insignia, mutilating monuments, and upsetting a government that was already tottering. Then a dull and mournful silence followed the orgy. The city that was always so ready for a fête now prepared for a siege. The trees of the Bois de Boulogne, in the shade of which, the week before, the most elegant equipages rolled along, were now cut down. A deep melancholy suddenly took the place of unbridled gaiety….

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An assistant surgeon, followed by two attendants, passed along the line of wounded. Mingled oaths and groans arose from every side, while the rattle of knives explained the tortures these unfortunates were suffering. Amputated limbs were thrown out the door, filling with horror those who were brought in. In the yard, French and Germans were heaped pell-mell, and their numbers were constantly increasing.