The soldiers had to witness and endure many terrible things. Many soldiers experienced shellshock. In All Quiet on the Western Front, bombing and shooting constantly surrounded the soldiers. The soldiers saw killing all around them and it changed their lives forever. Siegfried Sassoon's poem the Dreamers showed the horrible things the soldiers witnessed. In this poem the soldier saw their comrades being eaten by rats. The movie The Great War showed many soldiers who suffered from shellshock.
The soldiers were alienated from society. The war caused the soldiers to change emotionally and psychologically. These changes affected the soldier greatly. The soldier would never again fit into society. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul takes a leave from the front. While Paul is on leave, he realizes that he has changed. His clothes did not fit anymore and he no longer enjoyed his books the way he used to. He realized that he did not fit into society and that he would never be able to fit into society.
War caused the soldiers to disregard their emotions and their civilization. The soldiers saw death so often. They were forced to disregard their feelings. The soldiers could not show compassion for their dying comrades nor could they show remorse for the people they killed. If they had let their emotions play a role then the emotions would have weakened them. To survive on the