Malraux's quest: Fraternity and evil in the walnut trees of altenburg

This article explores the depiction of war and fraternity in André Malraux's The Walnut Trees of Altenburg. Special emphasis is placed on examining Malraux's literary presentation of the first use of gas warfare in the First World War and the emergence of a genuine hope of fraternity amidst the apocalypse of absolute war. Through a detailed analysis of Malraux's haunting description of the fictionalised battle of Bolimov, key themes in Malraux's life-long struggle with the confrontation between fraternity and evil are discussed in depth against a broader evocation of the destructiveness of the First World War.