All Quiet on the Western Front: Summary

All Quiet on the Western Front January 2, 2000 1. In the movie “All Quiet on the Western Front”, the German soldiers were sent into the battlefield thinking that they were going to win. The inexperienced boys were persuaded in to fighting and dying for the victory of their country. This brought on a profound sense of disillusionment with the values of Western Civilization. In the German soldier’s view they were looking to win the war and take over territory. Such as in Napoleon’s time, in which his values was to imperialize weaker countries. The Germans and Napoleon both possessed selfish movies instead of looking through the victim’s perspectives but rather looking to satisfy and protect their own desires and needs. This disillusioned the soldiers into fighting proudly for their homeland but never turning back to consider the possible downfalls in going into the western front. By the time the battle of the Somme ended, the German death toll in defense was 164,055, which was a disaster for the country. During the Renaissance, European countries chose to break out of the Dark ages and reform and to modernize society. The values in reconstruction produced a sense of disillusionment with the actions that took place on the Western Front. The soldiers on the front were devastated during the first bombardment and all the mental and physical conditions of the soldiers deteriorated from that point on. The values of the Renaissance were the opposite of those that arose on the battlefield. The fantasy of solving their own national problems disabled Germans in viewing other countries war aims. Over confidence destroyed the troops.

2. In the movie “All Quiet on the Western Front”, young inexperienced German soldiers eagerly enter World War I, but their enthusiasm “wears thin” as they experience the horrors of the war. Slowly, they start to adapt to the cynicism of the veterans.