How did Expressionist literature respond to war and industrial society?

Expressionist literature emerged as a powerful reaction against the materialism, rapid industrialization, and social complacency of pre-World War I Europe. Writers responded to the chaos and suffering of the era by rejecting traditional narrative structures in favor of an ecstatic, subjective evocation of mental states.12

Response to Industrial Society

Expressionists used grotesque distortion to critique the "soullessness" of modern technology and the dehumanizing subjection of workers to machines. While some works reflected deep pessimism, others adopted a more optimistic view, influenced by Futurism, seeing technology as a potential instrument for achieving a socialist utopia. Plays like Georg Kaiser’s Gas trilogy depicted the struggles of workers attempting to gain control over their mechanized environment.23

Response to War

During and after World War I, the movement became a vehicle for social protest and a search for spiritual renewal. Poets like Georg Trakl and Gottfried Benn created terrifying, distorted images of the battlefield. Dramatists such as Ernst Toller used the stage to transform the audience's consciousness, often depicting characters who move from the horrors of war toward a new awareness of human brotherhood and peaceful coexistence.123