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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2022

Alexandre Sumpf
Affiliation:
Université de Strasbourg
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Summary

In 1916, certain film-goers in Russia’s big cities had the privilege of watching dozens of amputees and maimed men hustle and bustle on the screen for almost an hour.1 We know nothing about these anonymous figures, who represented both victims of war and a narrative of resurrection. We know nothing and no one saw anything but these shots of them as they are getting treated, examined, fitted with prosthetic devices, and professionally retrained. Reborn to Life was certainly a silent movie, as were all the films of the time, but what is most significant in this case is that it did not let these veterans speak: we can only attentively follow their attitudes, gestures, and looks, then guess at their thoughts and emotions. The disabled veterans were objectified: they merely stood as a symbol of the war’s cruelty; these were victims, the living dead far more conspicuous than the millions of corpses buried at the western margins of the empire.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Broken Years
Russia's Disabled War Veterans, 1904–1921
, pp. 1 - 16
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Introduction
  • Alexandre Sumpf, Université de Strasbourg
  • Book: The Broken Years
  • Online publication: 10 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009047296.001
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  • Introduction
  • Alexandre Sumpf, Université de Strasbourg
  • Book: The Broken Years
  • Online publication: 10 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009047296.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Alexandre Sumpf, Université de Strasbourg
  • Book: The Broken Years
  • Online publication: 10 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009047296.001
Available formats
×