Storm of Steel

Twice Jünger is awarded the Iron Cross, and once, at the end, the Pour le Mérite, or Order of Merit. The Iron Cross was established in 1813, by King Wilhelm III of Prussia, and symbolizes bravery in battle. Jünger’s first Iron Cross is awarded, along with other medals his men receive, for his deeds in the assault on the woods of St-Pierre-Vaast. The second comes after his raid on British trenches near Regniéville, and Jünger’s Order of Merit was awarded after his final assault.

When Jünger receives his first Iron Cross, Colonel von Oppen tells him that since he has a habit of being wounded, here is “a little plaster” (119), a joke meaning he can use the medal to stop his wounds. Since all three medals are awarded after Jünger is wounded, they symbolize, for Jünger, his wounds, but they also symbolize his will to fight on. Jünger rarely expounds on his personal feelings, and there is no direct mention of how he feels when he receives his medals. Just before his final wounding, he realizes he is missing one and stops, in the midst of enemy fire, to find it. This shows that the medals then symbolize what he believes being a soldier means: bravery in the face of danger, a desire to continue despite insurmountable odds, and willingness to be wounded for the cause of country.