Enthusiasm
In a letter of 23 September 1914 to the Swiss family Weber, Hindemith described the general mood in Germany a few weeks after the outbreak of the First World War:
«That is the symbol of the mood that dominates here! 42-cm joy, hello French and war bustle! Everyone is glad that the French are getting a good blow and if one goes into town towards noon or in the evening, there's a crowd such as one seldom notices in peaceful times [...] In the entire empire there is the greatest optimism that Germany will win, and when you see all the happy soldiers who are still here and the enthusiasm, you know this cannot be otherwise [...] Everyone is delighted to go into the field and when you see that everyone is happy to grab a weapon and no one wants to stay behind, even enemies will have to admit that the German people are fighting for a just cause and have not, as the French, Russian & English lie factories wish to propagate, gone to war just for rowdiness [...] Don't think that what I'm writing is an exaggeration. The numbers are set too low. The people are in a state of enormous enthusiasm.»