Summary of All Quiet on the Western Front
Paul Bäumer is a sensitive German teenager, who, along with his classmates and encouraged by his patriotic schoolmaster, volunteers to join the German army during the First World War. They are sent to fight in the trenches on the Western Front in Flanders, Belgium (Flanders Fields). Pieces of land are gained and lost again, and many of Paul’s comrades lose their lives. When Paul returns home on leave, he feels alienated by the normality of life in his German village.
Reasons to read All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his masterpiece “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Widely regarded as an anti-war novel, it became an international bestseller and inspired a new genre of veteran literature exposing the horrors of warfare. Remarque partly based the novel on his own experiences as a German soldier during the First World War in Flanders – he was stationed between Torhout and Houthulst. His books were banned and burned as unpatriotic in Nazi-Germany. In 1931, Remarque published a sequel, “The Road Back”, about German veterans’ difficulties to reintegrate into civilian life. Other notable works by Remarque include “Arch of Triumph”, “Heaven Has No Favorites”, “The Promised Land”, and “The Night in Lisbon”.
Setting: Langemark (Belgium)
In chapter 7, when on home leave, Paul Bäumer mentions that he is stationed between Langemark and Bikschote, in West-Flanders, Belgium.
Original title: Im Westen nichts Neues
Year of publication: 1929
Nr of pages: 248
