This was the general sentiment felt by Germans in the summer of 1914. For Germany this was a time of great joy, nationalism, and spirit. Germans were convinced of their “moral superiority, their moral strength, and their moral right”(91). “Germans fear God yet otherwise nothing in this world”(62). Germany saw World War I as an opportunity to bring their superior culture to all of Europe, and therefor welcomed it with open arms. Even before war had been declared, Germany was struck with war fever. Women rushed to the stores, stocking up on everything from woolen sweaters to canned foods. And the men, espe

During his stay at home Paul is confronted by many civilians including his family. Some ask no questions, some are very curious as to how life is at the front, and others pretend to know what it’s like. “A common feeling among soldiers was that their experience at the front had created an insurmountable barrier between them and civilians. Communication with home was no longer possible. People simply could not understand what the soldiers had been through, and the soldiers themselves could not articulate their experience appropriately” (Eksteins, 228). When Paul’s mother asks “was is very bad out there, Paul?” He does not know how to respond. “Mother, what should I answer to that! You would not understand, you could never realize it. And you shall never realize it”(Remarque, 161). During his leave Paul prefers to be alone, so that no one bothers him. People talk too much for Paul. “They have worries, aims, desires, that I cannot comprehend. They are always absorbed in the things that go to make up their existence. Formerly I lived in just the same way myself, but now I feel no contact here” (168). After years of living a life where surviving the day is your only focus, Paul cannot even fathom a life in which one worries about the neighbors dog, or what is on sale at the market this week. Unable to feel at home among his family, unable to express his feelings about the war or even talk about his experiences, Paul is unable to conceive of a future without war.

The main character Paul Baumer is a compassionate and sensitive young man; before the war he loved his family, his books, and he even wrote poetry. He enters the war looking for adventure, ready to prove his patriotism. By the end, his experiences have left him in a hardened, emotionless, and hopeless state with no desire to continue living. Having learned to be an adult while fighting the war, Paul and his fellow classmates only know how to be soldiers. The cold, wet trenches are their homes now and they fear they will never be able to feel at home anywhere else. When Paul is given leave and returns home, he no longer feels at home in his own house. “I breathe deeply and say over to myself:- ‘you are at home, you are at home.’ But a sense of strangeness will not leave me, I can not feel at home amongst these things. There is my mother, there is my sister, there is my case of butterflies, and there the mahogany piano - but I am not myself there. There is a distance, a veil between us” (Remarque 160). Upon his arrival Paul realizes that he has been crushed without knowing it. The civilian world is no longer his place. He is a soldier and the bat

Some topics in this essay:
Paul Baumer, World War, Lost Generation, Maria Remarque, Unfortunately Germans, war paul, entered war, world war, feel home, summer 1914, destroyed war, quiet rapture, entire generation, paul realizes, war physically,