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How did Rainer Maria Rilke describe his years in military school?
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Rainer Maria Rilke
Austro-German poet and writer Rainer Maria Rilke, 1902.
Rainer Maria Rilke described his years in military school as a time of "merciless affliction" and a "primer of horror."1
Enrolled in military lower and upper realschule institutions in Sankt Pölten and Mährisch-Weisskirchen to satisfy his family's desire for him to become an officer, the highly sensitive poet found the environment completely at odds with his nature. He was eventually forced to leave these schools prematurely due to poor health.1