How did German Expressionist writers portray war and modern city life?

German Expressionist writers portrayed war and modern city life as sources of profound chaos, suffering, and alienation, often using techniques of grotesque distortion to reflect their internal states of mind.123

Portrayal of War

Expressionist poets and dramatists frequently depicted war through terrifying, apocalyptic imagery. While some writers, such as Georg Trakl, infused their battlefield scenes with visionary mysticism, others like Georg Heym and Gottfried Benn presented reality as stark, grotesque, and unrelieved. In drama, war was often treated as a catalyst for spiritual transformation; for instance, Ernst Toller’s play Transfiguration explores how a soldier converts his horrific wartime experiences into a new awareness of human brotherhood.123

Portrayal of Modern City Life

Expressionists viewed the modern city as a site of oppression and soullessness, characterized by rapid mechanization and the dehumanization of workers. Their works often attacked the perceived coldness of modern technology, though some dramatists—influenced by Futurism—envisioned the machine age as a potential instrument for achieving a socialist utopia. Through elliptical language and symbolic "stations" in their plays, these writers sought to expose the spiritual malaise of urban existence and the collapse of traditional bourgeois values.123