The Effects Of A German Soldier In All Quiet On The Western Front

“We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously into every action; but also we distinguished the false from true, we had suddenly learned to see. And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through” (Remarque 6). Joining the war is perceived to be glory, and an honorable act, but is it like all it seems? All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel about World War I and its effects upon those who served in it through the perspective of a German soldier by the name of Paul Bäumer. Through his eyes, truths about war are slowly revealing itself one by one. This novel contains heart-wrenching scenes which show the brother-like relationship among the comrades, and the

“The dead man might have had thirty more years of life if only I had impressed the way back to our trench more sharply on my memory” (Remarque 99). In this scene, Paul has stabbed a French soldier. The man is lying next to him, and he has no choice but to stay until his comrades can come and rescue him. He is forced to listen to the noises that the dead man makes and soon finds himself feeling remorse towards the soldier. At one point, he even tries to help the French soldier by bandaging the wound from where he had been stabbed. He tries to picture what the soldier’s family and wife would have looked like and whether or not he should write back a letter. In the next quote, the French soldier has officially died. Paul props him up and talks to him, “Comrade, I did not want to kill you…I see you are a man like me” (Remarque 99). In this line, Paul apologizes to the soldier and explains that he did not mean to kill him as it was an act of protection. This shows that although at the time of fighting, soldiers tend to lose their humanity as they depend upon their instincts to help protect themselves, in the end the situation is different. When face to face with an individual, the humanity trait kicks back in and no longer is killing perceived as a purpose. All that is felt is sympathy towards the