Review on Modris Eksteins' Rights of Spring
       
       The book, “Rights of Spring” (1989) is a jumpy, but chronological order of 1909 to 1934. What makes this book stand out is its unusual emphasis upon the art of the times. Eksteins constantly quotes theatre critics, national propaganda and Punch magazine to illustrate his points. In “Rights of Spring" Ecksteins hopes to show that people's personal choices (which are them reflected, enmass, as societies choices) are made within the context of everyday living, and not by the traditional view of an elite German, English or Russian state. By giving insight to the art and lifestyles of the people of the time, Ecksteins underscores the social, technological and cultural changes of early 20th century Europe by looking at people's reactions to war.  Eksteins would have been very happy to stumble upon the Quote from German military chief of staff, Helmut von Moltke, who claimed, "I live entirely in the arts" (89) for Eksteins seems to be of the same ideals. The book is divided into three parts - the first being the rational of societies to enter such a war, the second describes the fighting psyche of the soldiers, and the third focuses on the “new” culture that emerges from the rubble. 


	The first act of the book is a slow, methodical introduction into the art world of late 18th century Europe. Although a bit confusing at first, Eksteins offers a interesting metaphor and foreshadow of the last phase of the industrial revolution and the first world war.  Eksteins’ book reads that in the late 1800’s, dance was king, and the crown jewel was ballet. The art was moved in on by all, some did better than others, but a systematic rhythm was created. Every country developed their own style, methods, and criticisms. It was a grand affair- even looked on a savior of civilization. (27) With this amount of interest, the evolution of dance was rapid. Lead by dancers such as Fauwn and Nijinsky, there was a push away from the rigid movements of old, and into a sort of freedom or liberation of dance. This revolution was rejected by many, but Eksteins claims that the changes were “a vision of grace, harmony and beauty…morally uplifting“(52)  With the movement toward personal freedoms in direct conflict with the strong order of the past, Eksteins moves into the war of La Sacre. The shouting, the greening, the rejection, the "explosion of La Sacre" (41) - a direct, and somewhat forced introduction to the hostilities of WWI.

	Eksteins introduces the great powers more as people than countries. Germany is viewed as much less pompous as France, but just as dangerous. It is interesting to point out the lack of references to the Triple-Entente, or Serbian - Austrian relations, which would politically suck the Germans into WWI.  Rather, Eksteins presents German industry and Kulture as the corner stones of their society. The new Germany is a new country, consisting of Prussia and its allies, which in 1914, had taken the industrial world by storm. Berlin was the new great city, an exploding population and the most powerful single army and economy in the world. German Kulture is interesting - based on change, new ways of thinking, inner freedoms. A society that would be unlike the British's, a society would be, "not of honesty and true freedom, but of manners, superficiality and dissolution...German kulture, by contrast, was said to be concerned with 'inner freedom', with authenticity, wit truth rather than sham", although Eksteins moves out of character by not footnoting or nodding towards any of these sources.	This need for change caused a feverish panic among the Germans. Even those who where supposed to appose the war found themselves caught up in the pitch of "Freeing Europe" to the German Kulture (93). An unsurprising parallel to the same quick military answers to cultural and economic questions that would engulf Germany again in the mid 1930's. 

	WWI left society with the values of the 19th century horribly shaken. What emerged immediately after were not necessarily 20th century values, though. The end of the war and the turn to a war-economy in industrialized society brought with it many new ideas; the women’s labour movement, government intervention in manufacturing, and a turn to democracy as the dominant (though short-lived) form of European government. Also, it tore apart the concept of duty, the glory of war and Darwinist theory of national expansion. These ideals would not die, indeed they are still alive today, but they were not the main point of the national agendas or public thought. In the late 1930’s, the British people had grown so distasteful of war, that they ignored the build up of the German army, even though it would mean inevitable conflict later. (This compared to the rapid sacrifice of millions for the defence of Belgium - a technically neutral country.)

	Eksteins categorizes the soldiers on either side by belief systems, more than country. He claims that the German soldier’s inner resources “had a predominantly metaphysical form, in contrast to the social and historical values that motivated the Englishman and Frenchman.” (205) Eksteins’ use of letters to home tells of the change that befalls the soldiers is well done. It is interesting to note the slow march of depression that rings in each letter as the war moves on. The pivoting point is the Christmas truce 1914. Stories of mud and guns were replaced with men talking about the fairness of the Germans, the wins and losses of trading across the trenches (112) and a phantom football game. (113,128) The reason that Eksteins puts such a focus on these events over the military or economic issues of the time, is that the Christmas truce of 1914 was the last tangible impression of Victorian school values. A watershed day for European society, it marked that last example of a proper war of manners. Examples are given of a “football mentality” among the British, (122) while no explanation, other than self-preservation is given for the German or French attitudes.  The war was the game to the British, “all in great fun.” (123) Hundreds of thousands of English had died in 1914, but that was war, and it was supposed to end by Christmas. Eksteins ends the first act of the book on this note to emphasize that the mentality of the game was over. The British soldiers re-took their trenches. The enemy was not spoken to again, the enemy wasn’t human. 

	The second half of the book deals with the repercussions of the great power’s leap into WWI.  In this, there is a steady increase in descriptive, personal stories to emphasis his points.  The first few chapters of the second half deal mostly with soldiers coming to terms with the “Over the Top” mentality, and the strange psychological order that allowed them to keep doing so against all logical thoughts of self-preservation.  There are prints of exasperation of the men doing the work, home organizations denouncing the ill-fated tactics, but nothing of salvation would be done. Eksteins claims that what kept the men going was their being “sustained by social values in which he genuinely believed, but…his attitudes had been subjected to such grievous attack in the course of war that his attitudes towards society, civilization and history were indeed irreparably altered.” (190)  
	Lastly, the third act moves into the birth of the new culture. Here, the war has ended and a new Europe has emerged. Eksteins may overplay the amount of change that the soldiers brought home with them, but it cannot be deigned that there was a new libertarianism in place that was very different from the uncompromising nationalism of the pervious century. (267) Eksteins attempts to give focus to people’s coming to terms with the war by bringing in in-depth biographies of Charles Lindbergh and  Erich Remarque which categorize Europe’s need for a hero and a mourner, respectively. 

	There is quite a bit of information on Remarque, and his book All Quiet on the Western Front. Interestingly enough, Eksteins’ thesis on All Quiet as an intellectual, historical look at the first world war creates a strong parallel between All Quiet’s use of art as life and Ekstein’s goal in Rights of Spring. “Art had become more important than history…Historians have failed to find explanations to the war that correspond to the horrendous realities, to the actual experience of the war.” (290-291)  

	Overall, Rights of Spring is a strong piece of work for understanding the situations that people where flung into in the First World War.  The research done on this topic was wide and through. Eksteins made a conscience decision to present the reader with the eyes of the literate middle class European, and does so well.  He brings what a person of the time would read and know to the book. There isn’t much discussion on the back-room politics, or even political debate of the time, but rather, letters from friends, theatre and the literature of mainstream media. Because of this, Eksteins creates an excellent, although narrow view of the change of the attitudes of the people in Europe explaining the psyche of the push to war to the rise of Hitler.