The Legacy of Remarque’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
“Nothing New on the Western Front”, book by Erich Maria Remarque, is the portrait of a generation that euphorically left school to go to the front, but died in the gears of the exhausting machine of war.
In the early 20th century, people really looked forward to World War I. It was a period of radical change and insecurity. Technical progress set the pace – factories, cars, scientific discoveries. Cracks were starting to form in a patriarchal society. Women were rebelling against prescribed roles and demanding more rights.
Some things were coming to an end, while innovations came at a rapid pace, overwhelming people – especially men. War, many thought, could be a “cleansing force” that would stop or slow change. They celebrated the outbreak of war in the summer of 1914 and truly believed they would be home for Christmas. But things developed differently.
“We learned that a polished tunic button is more important than a set of philosophy books. We realized – first with astonishment, then with bitterness, and finally with indifference – that the intellect was apparently not the most important thing, it was the -brush kit ; not ideas, but the system; not freedom, but drill.”
Source: DW
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