What Is The Theme Of Dehumanization In All Quiet On The Western Front

World War I, or also known as the War to End All Wars was a global war that began in July, 28th, 1914 and ended in November, 11, 1918. The war included 70 million military personnel, most of them were Europeans who fought in one of the most enormous wars in history. Around 7 million civilians and over 9 million soldiers were killed by the gruesome new technological and industrial advancements in weapons of destruction, including a new devastating type of strategy called Trench Warfare. Trench Warfare caused devastation in every front and in Europe, however it also caused destruction in the minds of soldiers. War in All quiet on the Western Front is shown as futile and dehumanizing to the soldiers however comradeship also flourishes in the war

In page 113 of all quiet on the western front Paul’s trench company is retreating because they are getting over run and he says the thought that that almost every soldier has in war. In the quote Paul says “We have become wild beast. We do not fight, we defend ourselves from annihilation.” Perfectly embodying the thought of every soldier in the battle field (Remarque 113). In the quote it shows the thought process that these soldiers’ have when killing other people, it shows why they find killing justified. The quote says “we have become wild beast” and “we defend ourselves from annihilation” showing how they do not have human morals anymore, rather more like a beast. What Paul says shows how these soldiers are willing to drop their morals to turn into “beast” to accomplish their goal of surviving. There is also another great quote that says “while we are still in the war, sink down in us like a stone, after the war shall waken again, and then shall begin the disentanglement of

Kropp states in the book that “we are here to protect our fatherland. And the French are over there to protect their fatherland. Now who’s in the right?”, furthermore showing that they (Germans) are not even sure if they are on the right side (Remarque 203). They are sacrificing their lives for something they don’t even know if they are in the right. The quote shows that the soldiers don’t even understand what they are fighting for, and when u think about if it is so important to win, why do they not know what they want to win for? They don’t understand the reason the war had to happen, they don’t understand the reason why lives have to be sacrificed, they don’t understand the reason they are taking other lives. Their lack of information of the war shows how unnecessary it was for them to fight for the fatherland. Then there is the irony of the war stated by Albert, “I think it is more of a kind of fever, no one in particular wants it, and then all at once there it is. We didn’t want the war, the others say the same thing-and yet half the world is in it all the same.”, what Albert say’s is true, no country wants to get in a war but half the world is in it (Remarque 206). Albert shows how undesirable the war expressing it by comparing the war to a fever that nobody wants. The sad