--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1916 I was discharged from military…" description: "\"In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather, given a sort of leave of absence on the understanding that I might be recalled within a few ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/george-grosz-24840_absence_in-1916-i-was-discharged-from-military-s_512181.jpg" --- # In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather… ![“In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather, given a sort of leave of absence on the understanding that I might be recalled within a few months. And so I was a free man, at least for a while.” quote by George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/george-grosz-24840_absence_in-1916-i-was-discharged-from-military-s_512181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/george-grosz-24840_absence_in-1916-i-was-discharged-from-military-s_512181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23e/george-grosz-24840_absence_in-1916-i-was-discharged-from-military-s_512181.jpg) > “In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather, given a sort of leave of absence on the understanding that I might be recalled within a few months. And so I was a free man, at least for a while.” [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Temporary freedom can feel like a brief release before obligations resume. **In simple terms:** Freedom may be short‑lived. Key Takeaway Appreciate moments of liberty. Themes war freedom impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type literary historical When to use this quote - military leave - sabbaticals - creative breaks Key Concepts historical context psychology of liberty Questions to Reflect On - How do you make the most of fleeting freedom? - What prepares you for inevitable returns? A Different Perspective Uncertainty can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Discharged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discharged/) [Free man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-man/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-service/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [After I was discharged from the military, it was difficult trying to become a civilian,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/after-i-was-discharged-from-the-military-it-was-difficult-trying-to/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [In the end, they pardoned me and packed me off to a home for the shell-shocked. Shortly before the end of the war, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/in-the-end-they-pardoned-me-and-packed-me-off-to-a-home-for-the-shell/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [I took a leave of absence for a year to coach at San Francisco State under Vic Rowen, fully intending to go back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-holmgren/i-took-a-leave-of-absence-for-a-year-to-coach-at-san-francisco-state/) [Mike Holmgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-holmgren/) > [What starting your company means: you will lose your stable income, your right to apply for a leave of absence, and your right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/what-starting-your-company-means-you-will-lose-your-stable-income/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Sister Carlotta, I'm on a leave of absence right now. That means I've been sacked, in case you don't understand how the I.F. handles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/sister-carlotta-i-m-on-a-leave-of-absence-right-now-that-means-i-ve/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“A happy and productive person is one who understands that his or her job is not the purpose of his or her life. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/del-suggs/a-happy-and-productive-person-is-one-who-understands-that-his-or-her/) [Del Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/del-suggs/) > [In fall 1967, I was given leave of absence by the National Public Affairs Research Foundation to move to Redondo Beach, California, to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/in-fall-1967-i-was-given-leave-of-absence-by-the-national-public/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) > [“Oh, there's not much to tell. I served in the Ninth Iowa Infantry. That's where I met Frankie...Frank. 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The judge is about to give its verdict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abiodun-fijabi/i-stand-condemned-before-the-court-of-human-justice-the-odds-are-not/) [Abiodun Fijabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abiodun-fijabi/) > [What needs to be discharged is the intolerable tenderness of the past, the past gone and grieved over and never made sense of. Music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/what-needs-to-be-discharged-is-the-intolerable-tenderness-of-the-past/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) ## More by George Grosz > [The cult of individuality and personality, which promotes painters and poets only to promote itself, is really a business. The greater the 'genius' of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/the-cult-of-individuality-and-personality-which-promotes-painters-and/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [What can I say about the First World War, a war in which I served as an infantryman, a war I hated at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/what-can-i-say-about-the-first-world-war-a-war-in-which-i-served-as/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [I was disappointed, not because we had lost the war but because our people had allowed it to go on for so many years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/i-was-disappointed-not-because-we-had-lost-the-war-but-because-our/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [The war was a mirror; it reflected man's every virtue and every vice, and if you looked closely, like an artist at his drawings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/the-war-was-a-mirror-it-reflected-man-s-every-virtue-and-every-vice/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [Very little changed fundamentally, except that the proud German soldier had turned into a defeated bundle of misery and the great German army had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/very-little-changed-fundamentally-except-that-the-proud-german/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [I don't even like to talk about it. 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They keep a standing 'art' to defend their collapsing culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/it-s-an-old-ploy-of-the-bourgeoisie-they-keep-a-standing-art-to/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [My drawings and paintings were done as an act of protest; I was trying by means of my work to convince the world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/my-drawings-and-paintings-were-done-as-an-act-of-protest-i-was-trying/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [Peace was declared, but not all of us were drunk with joy or stricken blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/peace-was-declared-but-not-all-of-us-were-drunk-with-joy-or-stricken/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [I had grown up in a humanist atmosphere, and war to me was never anything but horror, mutilation and senseless destruction, and I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/i-had-grown-up-in-a-humanist-atmosphere-and-war-to-me-was-never/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [In the end, they pardoned me and packed me off to a home for the shell-shocked. Shortly before the end of the war, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/in-the-end-they-pardoned-me-and-packed-me-off-to-a-home-for-the-shell/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [In public buildings set aside for the care and maintenance of the goods of the middle ages, a staff of civil service art attendants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/in-public-buildings-set-aside-for-the-care-and-maintenance-of-the/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) > [Painting is manual labor, no different from any other; it can be done well or poorly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grosz/painting-is-manual-labor-no-different-from-any-other-it-can-be-done/) [George Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) [Explore all 24 George Grosz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grosz/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather, given a sort of leave of absence on the understanding that I might be recalled within a few months. 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