“All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Marie Remarque.
Random House, New York, 2013 (originally published 1928), 215 pages, Grades 10 and above.
The beginnings of wars are sometimes celebrated with flag-waving and high emotion. World War I was no exception. The soldiers marching off to the front were celebrated and treated as heroes. In all the cities of Europe, young women kissed and cheered the soldiers on.
It was a heady time. Average men, formerly bakers, shopkeepers and mechanics, were suddenly transformed by the magnificence of the event. Now they were the guardians of culture and society. Very few leaders had the perception of the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, Edward Grey with his famous and accurate comment that “the lamps are going out all over Europe and we shall not see them lit again in our lifetimes.”
Erich Marie Remarque has given us the truth behind Grey’s comments in the novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Ninety years after its initial publication, it likely remains the greatest novel ever written about war.
Paul Baumer is 18 years old and has just graduated from high school. Being in the flower of youth, Paul is excited about books, science and learning. He has a generous personality and cares for his family and for his country. Paul and his classmates are encouraged to enter the German Army by the schoolmaster. He and his classmates will make up the iron soldiers of the nation.
After this exhortation, Paul and his classmates enlist in the German Army. They aren’t alone, as all the young men in Germany become soldiers. After boot camp, he is transferred to the Western Front. There he meets his company and his wise sergeant, Stanislaus Katczinsky. In short order, his company is thrown into action and ordered to attack. Within days of battle, many of the young men have been gunned down in these suicidal attacks.
Between attacks and counterattacks, Paul begins to find himself being hallowed out. The pleasant young man of a few months ago now sees a world that is being destroyed by artillery shells and poison gas. Katczinsky (Kat) shepherds the youthful soldiers through battle after battle. Kat comes from the laboring class and has a simple understanding of life. He teaches Paul and the others how to survive artillery bombardments, poison gas attacks and night patrols. The soldiers in Paul’s platoon become brothers to each other. Completely stripped of any illusions about war, the soldiers dutifully trudge along. But Germany begins to be crushed. The Americans have now entered the war, and the tide has turned. The German soldiers know this. What happens next?
What happens to Paul and Kat? What has the war done to them? Why does Paul wonder if he can ever again fit into society? Why is war so terrible? To find out the answers to these questions, go to the library and check out “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Marie Remarque.
Remarque has written an insightful novel about the horrors of war. We see the futility of war and what it does to individuals and society. So influential was this book that the Nazis banned the title within four years of its publication. The Nazis believed that war was glorious and Remarque’s writing condemned this viewpoint. He had to flee to Switzerland to avoid being executed by the Nazi government. Having failed to catch him, they arrested his sister and had her beheaded.
Ninety years after publication, “All Quiet” remains one of the great literary works describing war and why it should be avoided. Some of the parts are not for the faint of heart, but it is a brilliant study in what happens to people in the midst of a ludicrous war. I hope you read this great novel. It continues to teach as much today as when it was first published.
