All Quiet on the Western Front(Im Westen Nichts Neue)

I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are

set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another

Erich Maria RemarqueNovember 1928

Remarque

• Born June 22, 1928• Died September 25th,

1970• Drafted into the army

at 18 and was sent to fight for Germany on the Western Front.

Reception

• Published in 1928• Tried to give a realistic

portrayal of war. • First war book that did

not romanticize war. • Banned by Germany in

the 30’s. • One of the most popular

books to burn for the Nazi’s and he lost his citizenship.

• Very popular elsewhere.

Title

• Originally the title meant “Nothing New in the West”. This was a common dispatch used by the German Army.

• Has come to mean no action in the field.

Origins of WWI• Nationalism: Italy and German were unified in the 1870’s. France was

angered over loss of land. • Imperialism: England, France and Germany needed increased amount

of raw goods post-industrial revolution. Competed in Northern Africa for land.

• Hostilities led to alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. In response, Great Britain, Russia and France formed an alliance.

• Tensions led to an arms race led by Germany so that they each had huge standing armies.

• Tensions came to a head after the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia and this caused the alliances to mobilize to protect each other.

Technological Advances of the War• Machine Guns

• Poison Gas• Trench Warfare

Sometimes I think it should be a rule of war that you have to see somebody up close and get to know him before you can shoot him.  ~M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

Trench Warfare

• Result of advances in artillery but not in mobility.

• Static form of fighting where each side would dig out trenches and hold their defensive positions.

• Led to ulterior means of fighting. • Tanks• Airplanes• Barbed Wire• Grenades

• 200 miles long• Casualties were too high so they tried outflanking each other

Western Front

Aerial view of opposing trench lines between Loos and Hulluch, July 1917. German trenches at the right and bottom, British at the top-left.

Ramifications of Trench Warfare• Massive Casualties

– Somme Offensive July 1916- In two weeks, 57,000 British Casualties

– Wringer of Verdun- 380,000 French Casualties• Trench Foot

"There are no atheists in foxholes" isn't an argument against atheism, it's an argument

against foxholes.  ~James Morrow

Trench Foot

• Constantly wet feet• Feet would turn red, then turn blue and eventually

would turn gangrenous. Amputation would be the only thing to do for them.

Brutality of War

• WWI saw the end of “chivalrous” warfare• Poison gas was used first by Germans, then

both sides. Caused slow and painful death. • Men would be stuck in the trenches for

years. They would be disease ridden and water logged.

Chemical Warfare

What might the men be feeling psychologically?

Effect of War on the Soldier

• “War to end all wars”• Over 9 million soldiers killed. • In homelands, the stalemate caused massive

food shortages because goods could not cross the “no man’s land”.

• War originally met with enthusiasm

Enthusiasm for War

• “Dulce et Decorum Est”: no longer the prevailing feeling.

• They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.  But in modern war there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying.  You will die like a dog for no good reason.  ~Ernest Hemingway

German Soldiers

In Flanders Fields

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.