 He recovered rapidly from his wound but on 8 September, the night he returned to his regiment, he committed suicide by gunshot to the head.His death was never fully explained, although a rumour persisted that he had syphilis and had given up on survival following his wound.His works were collected together many years after his death, as he never had a book published independently, and he is now recognised as an important influence both on Dadism and German expressionism itself.