Class Discussion Part 1: All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Baumer and his high school classmates thrust themselves into a war with ideas of nationalism and duty, but as the war went on it became less about the greater good and more about individual survival.  At times they fought with ferocity, but these young men were not particularly aggressive in nature; it's part of the human condition to instinctually respond to a threat.  The drill Sgt. Himmelstoss was a man of low stature in the civilian world, and when given a position of leadership in the Army, he abused his power out of a need to feel more authoritative/important.  This is a reflection of the mentality of Germany at the time.  They never had a national identity and tried to force one upon the world through the use of authority.  Though fiction, many of the stories are drawn from experiences of the author and soldiers in the field hospitals.  The realness and detail of it contributed to the book's success, and appealed to the survivors of the lost generation who went through the traumas of the war.