All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front describes the horrors of World War One from
the perspective of the main character, Paul Baumer, a German recruit. The
movie is divided into four parts: the pre-war education of Paul and his friends
including their training, the arrival of the recruits at the front lines of the war,
the gruesome conditions of trench warfare, and Pauls homecoming and return
to the front lines.
The main characters include:
Paul Baumer main character
Sergeant Katczinsky Kat Old hand, takes care of the new recruits
Corporal Himmelstoss postman, drill sergeant
Professor Kantorek School teacher
Kropp, Leer, Muller, Kemmerick Pauls friends and new recruits
Westhus, Detering, Tjaden veteran soldiers
Directions: We will answer the questions while viewing the movie. Answer the questions neatly and in
complete sentences.
1. How does Paul Baumer introduce the soldiers in his troop?
2. How does Professor Kantorck use propaganda?
3. What effect does it have on Paul and his friends (#2)? What does this say about their duty to Germany?
4. What is the mood of the boys after joining the army?
5. What does Himmelstoss say to the recruits? How is he preparing them for war?
6. Do you believe training camp was useful or not? Explain.
7. What are the young recruits noticing as they are about to head onto the train?
8. How does Sergeant Katczinsky Kat approach the recruits?
9. What do they do during their first night at the front?
10.

Describe the reaction of a soldier who gets hit by poison gas.

11.

Who dies like flies? Why?

12.
Compare the differences between how the veteran soldiers react to the bombardment to the
new recruits.
13.

How does Himmelstoss react to the fighting on the front? How is this ironic?

14.

How does Paul react to the French soldier that he just stabbed?

15.
Why do you think he reacts this way (#12)? What is Paul battling with inside his head at this
moment?
16.

What does Himmelstoss receive? How is this ironic?

17.

Why are Paul and Albert fortunate to end up in a Catholic hospital?

18.

Dscribe the Dead Room.

19.
When Paul was leaving the hospital on leave (go back home), what did
Albert request of him? Why?
20.
How did Paul describe the front and the conditions in the trenches to his
mother? Why did he describe it this way?
21.
When Paul visits Franzs mother, what did Paul promise her? (regarding
Franzs death)
22.

Describe the attitude of German soldiers at the end of the war. Why?

23.
front?

How did the attitude of the folks back home differ from those at the

24.

Is it important to the story to remember how Kat dies? Why?

25.

Is it important to the story to remember how Paul dies? Why?

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph answering questions 26-30.

26.
All Quiet on the Western Front paints a picture of war that is full of terrifying, grotesque
details in an attempt to persuade readers of the horrors of battle. Portrayals of war in other books,
however, as well as in films and on television, often ignore the more painful side of battle to glorify
fighting. How do you believe war should be depicted in movies or books? Why?
27.
Are there any heroes presented in All Quiet on the Western Front. What is the nature of
their heroism? Are there any villains in the novel? What makes them villainous?
28.
Hitler banned All Quiet on the Western Front at the beginning of World War II and had
copies of the novel burned. Although it is easy to condemn his acts of censorship, this may not
always be the case. Is there ever justification for censorship of antiwar material? Why? What if the
country is involved in a full-scale war?
29.
World War I was known as a total war because it involved the efforts of many civilians
in addition to the military. Today, however, warfare can be drastically different. How would All
Quiet on the Western Front be different if it were told from the perspective of a modern-day
American soldier during, say, the war in the Persian Gulf? What events would be different? What
ideas and issues might change?
30.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque creates Paul Bumer to
represent a whole generation of men who are known to history as the lost generation. Nine
million men died in battle, twenty-one million were injured, and nearly twenty million
noncombatants were killed in what is called The Great War. When the smoke cleared and the
bodies were finally buried, the world askedlike Paul and his friendswhy? Explain how the
soldiers of World War One became labeled as the lost generation. Also include a brief
explanation to how and why they were put into those circumstances.