Editing Joseph Beuys (section)

=== World War II (1941–1945) ===
Although he finally opted for a career in medicine,<ref>{{cite web|title=Joseph Beuys|url=https://www.theartstory.org/artist/beuys-joseph/|access-date=28 July 2022}}</ref> in 1941, Beuys volunteered for the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'',<ref>The implications are ambiguous. Germany had been at war since September 1939, military service was mandatory, and volunteering was one way to influence deployment.</ref> and began training as an aircraft radio operator under the tutelage of [[Heinz Sielmann]] in Posen, Poland (now [[Poznań]]). They both attended lectures on biology and zoology at the [[Adam Mickiewicz University|University of Posen]], at that time a [[Universities in the Third Reich#Germanized universities|Germanized university]]. During this time he began to consider pursuing a career as an artist.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Adams|first=David|date=2014|title=Joseph Beuys: Pioneer of a Radical Ecology|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00043249.1992.10791563|journal=Art Journal|language=en|volume=51|issue=2|pages=26–34|doi=10.1080/00043249.1992.10791563|issn=0004-3249}}</ref>

In 1942, Beuys was stationed in the [[Crimea]] and was a member of various combat bomber units. From 1943 onward, he was deployed as rear-gunner in a [[Junkers Ju 87|Ju 87]] "Stuka" dive-bomber, initially stationed in [[Königgrätz]], later moving to the eastern [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic region]]. Drawings and sketches from this time have been preserved, and his characteristic style is evident in this early work.<ref name="Adriani_79"/> 
On 16 March 1944, Beuys's plane crashed on the [[Crimean Offensive|Crimean Front]] close to Znamianka, then Freiberg [[Krasnohvardiiske Raion]].<ref>Pasik, Yakov (19 April 2006). [http://evkol.ucoz.com/crimea_communes.htm Еврейские поселения в Крыму (1922–1926)]. ucoz.com</ref> Drawing from this incident, Beuys fashioned the myth that he was rescued from the crash by nomadic [[Crimean Tatars|Tatar tribesmen]], who wrapped his broken body in animal fat and felt and nursed him back to health:

<blockquote>"Had it not been for the Tartars I would not be alive today. They were the nomads of the Crimea, in what was then no man's land between the Russian and German fronts, and favoured neither side. I had already struck up a good relationship with them and often wandered off to sit with them. 'Du nix njemcky' they would say, 'du Tartar,' and try to persuade me to join their clan. Their nomadic ways attracted me of course, although by that time their movements had been restricted. Yet, it was they who discovered me in the snow after the crash, when the German search parties had given up. I was still unconscious then and only came round completely after twelve days or so, and by then I was back in a German field hospital. So the memories I have of that time are images that penetrated my consciousness. The last thing I remember was that it was too late to jump, too late for the parachutes to open. That must have been a couple of seconds before hitting the ground. Luckily I was not strapped in – I always preferred free movement to safety belts ... My friend was strapped in and he was atomized on impact – there was almost nothing to be found of him afterwards. But I must have shot through the windscreen as it flew back at the same speed as the plane hit the ground and that saved me, though I had bad skull and jaw injuries. Then the tail flipped over and I was completely buried in the snow. That's how the Tartars found me days later. I remember voices saying 'Voda' (Water), then the felt of their tents, and the dense pungent smell of cheese, fat, and milk. They covered my body in fat to help it regenerate warmth, and wrapped it in felt as an insulator to keep warmth in."<ref>[[#Tisdall|Tisdall]], pp. 16–17.</ref></blockquote>

Records state that Beuys remained conscious, was recovered by a German search commando, and that there were no Tatars in the village at the time. Beuys was brought to a military hospital where he stayed for three weeks, from 17 March to 7 April.<ref>Ermen, Reinhard (2007) ''Joseph Beuys''. Rowohlt-Taschenbuch-Verlag. p. 153.</ref> It is consistent with Beuys's work that his biography would have been subject to his own reinterpretation;<ref>For a detailed account see Nisbet, "Crash Course – Remarks on a Beuys Story" in [[#Ray|''Mapping the Legacy'']].</ref> this particular story has served as a powerful origin myth for Beuys's artistic identity, and has provided an initial interpretive key to his use of unconventional materials, amongst which felt and fat were central.<ref>For a recent analysis of the reception of this story, see Krajewski, [[#Krajewski|''Beuys. Duchamp'']]</ref>

Despite prior injuries, he was deployed to the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] in August 1944, assigned to a poorly-equipped and trained [[7th Parachute Division (Germany)|paratrooper unit]].<ref name="Adriani_79" /> He received a gold [[Wound Badge]] for having been wounded in action over five times. On the day after the [[Victory in Europe Day|German unconditional surrender]] (8 May 1945), Beuys was taken prisoner in [[Cuxhaven]] and brought to a British [[internment camp]] from which he was released three months later, on 5 August. He returned to his parents who had moved to a suburb of [[Kleve]].