All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is about the German warfront during World War I. The story of the battle is narrated by Paul Baumer, a young soldier in the German army. He and his school friends have been urged to enlist in the fighting.

The story starts on the front lines where Paul and his friends are fighting for survival. When the movie starts, a classmate, Josef Behm, has already been killed. Another of the group, Kemmerich, has had his leg amputated. He never fully recovers from the amputation and dies. His leather boots, which were envied by all the classmates, is passed on.

As a result of the deaths that they see all around them, Paul and his friends are completely disillusioned by the war, even though they all had eagerly enlisted. Now they believe that war is a big waste and question whether there is a just cause for the fighting. They have also realized that it is the ordinary people, the little guys not the generals or captains, who actually fight the war and suffers the devastation. They fear for their own lives. They took out their frustrations by beating up Corporal Himmelstoss, their drillmaster and a true bully.

Of all his soldier friends, the old hand Kat is the most resourceful. He is always trying to locate food, find easy jobs, and gather supplies for the group. Paul thinks of him as his best friend. Paul’s troop is often bombarded, and Paul constantly sees death and destruction all around him. He feels relieved when he and his friends are allowed to leave the front and take a rest in the rear of the war. Paul is even granted a leave to go home.

When Paul goes home, he realizes he is a changed man. He feels totally lost when he puts on civilian clothes; he finds he has no interest in the things that he used to enjoy. He cannot even relate to his family and resents everyone in his hometown that acts as if the war were a game or a wonderful thing. He wishes that they understood the true horrors of fighting.

Paul meets some girls...