"What can I say about the First World War, a war in which I served as an infantryman, a war I hated at the start and to which I never warmed as it proceeded?"

George Grosz's quote reflects the complicated feelings of numerous soldiers who served in the First World War. He reveals his preliminary hatred of the war, and his inability to warm to it as it progressed. This recommends that he was not a fan of the war, and that he was not encouraged by patriotism or a sense of duty. Instead, he was likely driven by a sense of responsibility to his nation, or possibly a sense of fear of the repercussions of not combating. His quote also shows the scary of war, and the trouble of reconciling the violence and damage with the concept of patriotism. It is a reminder of the tremendous expense of war, and the psychological toll it takes on those who battle in it.