Ernst Jünger: An der Zeitmauer
[Ernst Jünger: At the Wall of Time]

Despite the decades that have passed since its publication in 1959, Ernst Jünger’s extensive essay At the Wall of Time (An der Zeitmauer) can be seen as the book of the hour. Many of the reflections throughout the 186 numbered sections of the book echo statements on climate change and its consequences, as summarized under the term of the Anthropocene. The term describes a scenario in which mankind has led the earth into a new age by interfering with nature, thus threatening their own survival. According to Jünger, the “apocalyptic mood” is “a sign that we have reached a stage in which the fate of the earth as such is being questioned.”

The metaphor of “the wall of time” was coined by Jünger to characterize change. It is not, however, meant to prophesize a catastrophe. The author rather aims at interpreting the fear of industrial progress as a phenomenon of a historical transition—one that demands new ways of thinking and acting. Jünger thus expands upon the theme of his 1932 essay The Worker in which he describes humanity’s ways to adapt to machine-based production.