All Quiet on the Western Front

As the men prepare for another trip to the front and a visit from the Kaiser, they have a robust discussion centering on the root causes of the war. What the men say seems purposely simplified, but it shows a common-sense ethos in a situation that seems to perpetually defy it. For example, Kropp’s claim is that a war is started by “one country badly offending another,” to which Tjaden replies, “I haven’t any business here at all. I don’t feel myself offended” (110). The dialogue between the two men reveals a fracturing of common sense. The logic of Tjaden’s retort is sound, and yet it makes not a shred of difference in the long term. He and Kropp will remain at the front, fighting an enemy, who like themselves, are poor folk who likely have the same kinds of thoughts.

As the dialogue continues between the men, the conversation stumbles upon a significant aspect of war: the use of propaganda. Detering first mentions the war profiteering that is undoubtedly happening, and in response, Kropp says, “I think it’s kind of a fever […] no one in particular wants it and then all at once, there it is” (112). Then Paul mentions the pamphlets prisoners have on them, which portray the German soldiers as child-killing cannibals. The conversation is interconnected. The mass of people generally do not want to see war break out, yet to satisfy the ego of rulers, they are worked into a frenzy so that war seems like a proper and logical thing to do.

Once the men return to the front, Paul is caught in No Man’s Land between the frontlines of the opposing armies, and in order to survive, he climbs into a shell hole and pretends that he is dead. In the extremely dangerous circumstance, a man suddenly falls into the shell hole with Paul and immediately Paul stabs him with his dagger. In the time it takes for the man to expire, Paul’s inner emotional war comes bursting forth. Once the adrenaline quiets down, he experiences regret, and he pleads with the man for forgiveness. He promises the man that he will live if only to carry back his wallet to his wife. He tells the man that he did not want to kill him, and that he was “only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind” (121). Although Paul has killed other men, this was the first time he killed a man up close. It is not impersonal. The scene once again illustrates not just the obvious physical trauma of those fighting, but also the heavy emotional trauma that comes as a consequence. It also speaks to the need to dehumanize the enemy to survive. Paul refers to the man as an “abstraction” until he’s faced with watching the man die.