All Quiet on the Western Front by. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” an artistic analysis of Remarque’s novel

Soldiers are having dinner nine kilometers from the front line. They are given double portions of food and tobacco, since after the last attack eighty people returned from the battlefield instead of one hundred and fifty. For the first time, a line formed in front of the “squeaker” at lunchtime, after a night’s rest. It featured the main character, nineteen-year-old Paul Bäumer, with his classmates: Corporal Albert Kropp, who dreams of passing the physics exams, Muller the Fifth, and a lover of girls from brothels for officers, Leer. Following them were friends - the frail mechanic Tjaden, the peat worker Haye Westhus, the married peasant Detering, the forty-year-old cunning Stanislav Katchinsky. The cook, whom the soldiers nicknamed Tomato for his burgundy bald head, initially refused to give them a double portion, but was forced to surrender under the influence of the company commander.

After lunch, the soldiers receive letters and newspapers. They read them in a restroom located in a picturesque meadow. There they play cards and chat. Friends receive a written greeting from their former class teacher Kantorek. Paul recalls how, under his influence, they signed up as volunteers. The only one of the students who did not want to go to war, Joseph Bem, was killed first. Young man wounded in the face, he lost consciousness and was considered dead. When Joseph came to his senses on the battlefield, no one could help him.

Soldiers visit the Kemmerich field hospital. Doctors amputated his leg. The patient is worried about the stolen watch and does not suspect that he will soon die. Müller decides to wait until he dies to take Kemmerich's high English boots.

Paul reflects on how difficult it is for them, young people, during the war. Unlike older people, they have no attachments in life - they have no profession, no wives, no children. The main character recalls how he spent ten weeks learning the art of war: the commander of the ninth squad, non-commissioned officer Himmelstoss, forced the soldiers to carry out unthinkable commands until they lost patience and poured full buckets from the latrine on him. Constant drills made the young men ruthless and callous, but it was these qualities that were useful to them in the trenches. The only good thing that the soldiers took out of the war was a sense of camaraderie.

Kemmerich understands that he is leaving this life. Paul tries to cheer up his friend. Kemmerich asks to give his boots to Müller. An hour later he dies.

The company receives new additions from old-timers and very young ones. Katchinsky shares beans with one of the newcomers and hints that in the future he will give them only for cigars or tobacco. Friends remember the time they spent studying in the barracks, watching the air battle, reflecting on why the war turned Himmelstoss from a simple postman into a flayer. Tjaden brings news that the non-commissioned officer in question is arriving at the front. Friends waylay Himmelstoss coming from the tavern, throw a bedcloth over him and beat him. The next morning the heroes leave for the front.

On the front line, soldiers are sent to sapper work. They go to the first front line in the fog. The battlefield turns out to be colored with French missiles. After finishing the work, the soldiers doze off and wake up when the British begin to fire at their positions. The young recruit hides under Paul's armpit and shits his pants out of fear. The soldiers can hear the terrible screams of wounded horses. The animals are killed after collecting people injured by the shelling.

At three o'clock in the morning, soldiers leave the front line and come under heavy fire. They are hiding in the cemetery. Paul crawls into the shell hole and seeks shelter behind the coffin. The British begin a gas attack. The shell lifts a coffin into the air, which falls on the hand of one of the recruits. Paul and Katchinsky want to kill a young soldier wounded in the thigh in order to spare him a painful death, but they do not have time to do this and go for a stretcher.

In the barracks, the soldiers dream about what they will do after the war is over. Haye wants to spend a week in bed with a woman. The soldier does not intend to return to the peat bogs - he would like to be a non-commissioned officer and remain for extended service. Tjaden insults Himmelstoss, who has approached his friends. When rivals disperse, soldiers continue to dream of peaceful life. Kropp believes that in the beginning you need to stay alive. Paul says he would like to do something unthinkable. Meanwhile, Himmelstoss raises the office and gets into a verbal altercation with Kropp. The platoon commander, Lieutenant Bertink, orders Tjaden and Kropp a day of arrest.

Katchinsky and Paul steal geese from the poultry house of the headquarters of one of the regiments. In the shed they roast one of the birds for a long time. The soldiers take some of the roast to their arrested comrades.

The offensive begins. The authorities are preparing... coffins for the soldiers. Rats are coming to the front. They are encroaching on the soldiers' bread. The soldiers are organizing a hunt for evil creatures. The soldiers wait for an attack for several days. After a night of shelling, the recruits' faces turn green and begin to vomit. The line of fire on the front line is so dense that food cannot be delivered to the soldiers. The rats are running for their lives. The recruits sitting in the dugout begin to go crazy with fear. When the shelling ends, the French go on the attack. The Germans throw grenades at them and retreat in short dashes. Then the counterattack begins. German soldiers reach French positions. The authorities decide to bring them back. Those retreating take with them French stew and butter.

Standing on duty, Paul recalls a summer evening in the cathedral, old poplars towering over the stream. The soldier thinks that, having returned to his native places, he will never be able to feel in them the love that he experienced before - the war has made him indifferent to everything.

Day follows day, attack follows counterattack. The bodies of the dead are piled up in front of the trenches. One of the wounded screams at the ground for several days, but no one can find him. On the front line, butterflies fly in front of the soldiers. The rats don't bother them anymore - they eat the corpses. The main losses occur among recruits who do not know how to fight.

During the next attack, Paul notices Himmelstoss, who is trying to sit out in the trench. The soldier forces his former boss to enter the battlefield with blows.

Old fighters teach young ones the art of survival. Haye Westhus's back is torn apart. Thirty-two people are returning from the front line.

In the rear, Himmelstoss offers peace to his friends. He supplies them with food from the officers' canteen and arranges outfits for the kitchen. Paul and Kropp look at the poster of the front theater, which depicts a beautiful girl in a light dress and white shoes. At night, Paul, Kropp and Katchinsky are transported to the other side of the river to the French women. They bring bread and liverwurst to hungry women and receive love in return.

Paul is given leave for seventeen days, then he must attend courses in one of the rear camps. Meets the hero at home elder sister Erna. Paul cannot hold back his tears from excitement. He finds his mother in bed. She has cancer. The father constantly asks the hero about the war. The German teacher invites Paul to a cafe, where one of the visitors tells the guy how to fight.

Paul sits in his room, looks at books and waits for the joyful feeling of youth to return to him. Tired of vain expectations, the hero goes to the barracks to visit Mittelstedt. The latter commands the militia Kantorek, who once left him for the second year.

Paul shares his rations with his relatives - there is almost no food left in the rear. The hero tells Kemmerich's mother that her son died quickly, from a shot in the heart. Paul spends the night before leaving with his mother, who cannot move away from her son’s bed. The hero regrets that he got a vacation.

Next to the military camp there is a Russian prisoner of war camp. Paul sympathizes with the good-natured peasants suffering from bloody diarrhea. He understands that the Germans and Russians became enemies on someone’s orders, which could just as easily turn them into friends. Before going to the front, Paul is visited by his father and sister. The hero's mother is admitted to the hospital for surgery.

At the front, Paul finds his friends alive. The Kaiser arranges a review of the troops. Soldiers discuss the causes of the war and come to the conclusion that they are outside the sphere of life ordinary people. Feeling uneasy because of his vacation, Paul volunteers to go on reconnaissance. During the attack, he pretends to be dead, wounds an enemy soldier caught in his crater, and after a while helps him get drunk and bandage his wounds. At three o'clock the Frenchman dies. Paul realizes that he has taken the life of his brother and promises to send money to the family of the printer Gerard Duval, who he killed. In the evening the hero breaks through to his own people.

Soldiers guard the village. In it they find a pig and the officers' food supplies. All day they cook and eat, all night they sit with their pants down in front of the dugout. Three weeks pass like this. During the retreat, Kropp and Paul are wounded. A splinter is taken out of the latter’s leg. Friends are sent home by sanitary train. On the way, Kropp develops a fever. Paul gets off the train with him. Friends are in the hospital of a Catholic monastery. A local doctor conducts experiments on curing flat feet on wounded soldiers. Kropp's leg is amputated. Paul begins to walk. His wife comes to visit the sick Levandovsky. They make love right in the ward. Paul is discharged in the summer. After a short vacation, he goes to the front again.

"All Quiet on the Western Front"(German) Im Westen nichts Neues) - famous novel Erich Maria Remarque, published in 1929. In the preface the author says: “This book is neither an accusation nor a confession. This is only an attempt to tell about the generation that was destroyed by the war, about those who became its victims, even if they escaped from the shells.”

The anti-war novel tells about all the experiences seen at the front by the young soldier Paul Bäumer, as well as his front-line comrades in the First World War. Like Ernest Hemingway, Remarque used the concept of “lost generation” to describe young people who, due to mental trauma they received in the war, were unable to find employment in civil life. Remarque's work thus stood in sharp contradiction with the right-wing conservative military literature that prevailed during the era of the Weimar Republic, which, as a rule, tried to justify the war lost by Germany and glorify its soldiers.

Remarque describes the events of the war from the perspective of a simple soldier.

History of creation

The writer offered his manuscript “All Quiet on the Western Front” to the most authoritative and famous publisher in the Weimar Republic, Samuel Fischer. Fisher confirmed the high literary quality of the text, but refused publication on the grounds that in 1928 no one would want to read a book about the First World War. Fischer later admitted that this was one of the most significant mistakes of his career.

Following the advice of his friend, Remarque brought the text of the novel to the publishing house Haus Ullstein, where, by order of the company's management, it was accepted for publication. On August 29, 1928, a contract was signed. But the publisher was also not entirely sure that such a specific novel about the First World War would be a success. The contract contained a clause according to which, if the novel was not successful, the author must work off the costs of publication as a journalist. To be on the safe side, the publishing house provided advance copies of the novel to various categories of readers, including veterans of the First World War. As a result of critical comments from readers and literary scholars, Remarque is urged to revise the text, especially some particularly critical statements about the war. A copy of the manuscript that was in the New Yorker speaks about the serious adjustments to the novel made by the author. For example, the latest edition lacks the following text:

We killed people and made war; we cannot forget about this, because we are at an age when thoughts and actions had the strongest connection with each other. We are not hypocrites, we are not timid, we are not burghers, we keep our eyes open and do not close our eyes. We don’t justify anything by necessity, idea, Motherland - we fought people and killed them, people we didn’t know and who did nothing to us; what will happen when we return to our previous relationships and confront people who interfere with us and hinder us?<…>What should we do with the goals that are offered to us? Only memories and my vacation days convinced me that the dual, artificial, invented order called “society” cannot calm us down and will not give us anything. We will remain isolated and we will grow, we will try; some will be quiet, while others will not want to part with their weapons.

Original text(German)

Wir haben Menschen getötet und Krieg geführt; Das ist für uns nicht zu vergessen, denn wir sind in dem Alter, wo Gedanke und Tat wohl die stärkste Beziehung zueinander haben. Wir sind nicht verlogen, nicht ängstlich, nicht bürgerglich, wir sehen mit beiden Augen und schließen sie nicht. Wir entschuldigen nichts mit Notwendigkeit, mit Ideen, mit Staatsgründen, wir haben Menschen bekämpft und getötet, die wir nicht kannten, die uns nichts taten; was wird geschehen, wenn wir zurückkommen in frühere Verhältnisse und Menschen gegenüberstehen, die uns hemmen, hinder und stützen wollen?<…>Was wollen wir mit diesen Zielen anfangen, die man uns bietet? Nur die Erinnerung und meine Urlaubstage haben mich schon überzeugt, daß die halbe, geflickte, künstliche Ordnung, die man Gesellschaft nennt, uns nicht beschwichtigen und umgreifen kann. Wir werden isoliert bleiben und aufwachsen, wir werden uns Mühe geben, manche werden still werden und manche die Waffen nicht weglegen wollen.

Translation by Mikhail Matveev

Finally, in the fall of 1928, the final version of the manuscript appeared. November 8, 1928, on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the armistice, Berlin newspaper "Vossische Zeitung", part of the Haus Ullstein concern, publishes a “preliminary text” of the novel. The author of “All Quiet on the Western Front” appears to the reader as an ordinary soldier, without any literary experience, who describes his experiences of the war in order to “speak out” and free himself from mental trauma. The introduction to the publication was as follows:

Vossische Zeitung feels “obligated” to open this “authentic”, free and thus “genuine” documentary account of the war.

Original text(German)

Die Vossische Zeitung fühle sich „verpflichtet“, diesen „authentischen“, tendenzlosen und damit „wahren“ dokumentarischen über den Krieg zu veröffentlichen.

Translation by Mikhail Matveev

This is how the legend about the origin of the novel’s text and its author arose. On November 10, 1928, excerpts of the novel began to be published in the newspaper. The success exceeded the wildest expectations of the Haus Ullstein concern - the newspaper's circulation increased several times, people came to the editorial office great amount letters from readers admiring this “unvarnished portrayal of war.”

At the time of the book's release on January 29, 1929, there were approximately 30,000 pre-orders, which forced the concern to print the novel in several printing houses at once. All Quiet on the Western Front became Germany's best-selling book of all time. As of May 7, 1929, 500 thousand copies of the book had been published. IN book version the novel was published in 1929, after which it was translated into 26 languages ​​the same year, including Russian. Most famous translation into Russian - Yuri Afonkin.

Main characters

Paul Beumer- the main character on whose behalf the story is told. At the age of 19, Paul was voluntarily drafted (like his entire class) into the German army and sent to the Western Front, where he had to face the harsh realities of military life. Killed in October 1918.

Albert Kropp- Paul’s classmate, who served with him in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “short Albert Kropp is the brightest head in our company.” Lost my leg. Was sent to the rear.

Muller the Fifth- Paul’s classmate, who served with him in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “... still carries textbooks with him and dreams of passing preferential exams; under hurricane fire he crams the laws of physics.” He was killed by a flare that hit him in the stomach.

Leer- Paul’s classmate, who served with him in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “wears a thick beard and has a weakness for girls.” The same fragment that tore off Bertinka’s chin rips open Leer’s thigh. Dies from loss of blood.

Franz Kemmerich- Paul’s classmate, who served with him in the same company. At the very beginning of the novel, he is seriously injured, leading to the amputation of his leg. A few days after the operation, Kemmerich dies.

Joseph Boehm- Beumer's classmate. Bem was the only one from the class who did not want to volunteer for the army, despite Kantorek's patriotic speeches. However, under the influence of his class teacher and loved ones, he enlisted in the army. Bem was one of the first to die, two months before the official draft deadline.

Stanislav Katchinsky (Kat)- served with Beumer in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “the soul of our squad, a man with character, smart and cunning - he is forty years old, he has a sallow face, blue eyes, sloping shoulders and an extraordinary nose for when the shelling will begin, where he can to get hold of food and how best to hide from the authorities.” Using the example of Katchinsky, the difference between adult soldiers who have a large life experience, and young soldiers for whom war is their whole life. He was wounded in the leg, shattering the tibia. Paul managed to take him to the orderlies, but on the way Kat was wounded in the head and died.

Tjaden- one of Bäumer’s non-school friends, who served with him in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “a mechanic, a frail young man of the same age as us, the most gluttonous soldier in the company - he sits down for food thin and slender, and after eating, he stands up pot-bellied like a sucked bug.” He has urinary system disorders, which is why he sometimes pees in his sleep. His fate is not exactly known. Most likely, he survived the war and married the daughter of the owner of a horse meat store. But he may have died shortly before the end of the war.

Haye Westhus- one of Bäumer’s friends, who served with him in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “our peer, a peat worker, who can freely take a loaf of bread in his hand and ask, “Well, guess what’s in my fist?” Tall, strong, not particularly smart, but having good feeling humorous young man. He was taken out from under fire with a torn back. Died.

Detering- one of Bäumer’s non-school friends, who served with him in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “a peasant who thinks only about his farm and his wife.” Deserted to Germany. Was caught. Further fate is unknown.

Kantorek- class teacher of Paul, Leer, Müller, Kropp, Kemmerich and Böhm. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: “strict small man in a gray frock coat, with a face like a mouse.” Kantorek was an ardent supporter of the war and encouraged all his students to volunteer for the war. Later he volunteered himself. Further fate is unknown.

Bertink- Paul's company commander. Treats his subordinates well and is loved by them. Paul describes him as follows: “a real front-line soldier, one of those officers who are always ahead of any obstacle.” While saving the company from a flamethrower, he received a through wound in the chest. My chin was torn off by a shrapnel. Dies in the same battle.

Himmelstoss- commander of the department in which Bäumer and his friends underwent military training. Paul describes him as follows: “He was reputed to be the most ferocious tyrant in our barracks and was proud of it. A small, stocky man who had served for twelve years, with a bright red, curled mustache, a former postman.” He was especially cruel to Kropp, Tjaden, Bäumer and Westhus. Later he was sent to the front in Paul's company, where he tried to make amends.

Joseph Hamacher- one of the patients of the Catholic hospital in which Paul Beumer and Albert Kropp were temporarily housed. He is well versed in the work of the hospital, and, in addition, has “absolution of sins.” This certificate, issued to him after being shot in the head, confirms that at times he is insane. However, Hamacher is psychologically completely healthy, and uses the evidence to his advantage.

Film adaptations

• The work has been filmed several times.
• American film No change on the Western Front() director Lewis Milestone received an Oscar.
• In 1979, director Delbert Mann made a television version of the film. No change on the Western Front.
• In 1983, famous singer Elton John wrote an anti-war song of the same name related to the film.
• Film .

Soviet writer Nikolai Brykin wrote a novel about the First World War (1975), entitled " On Eastern Front change».

Links

• Im Westen nichts Neues in German in the philologist's library E-Lingvo.net
• All Quiet on the Western Front in the Maxim Moshkov Library

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Vyrtsjärv
• Hairdryer

See what “All Quiet on the Western Front” is in other dictionaries:

No change on the Western Front- From German: Im Westen nichts Neues. Russian translation (translator Yu. N. Lfonkina) of the title of the novel by the German writer Erich Maria Remarque (1898 1970) about the First World War. This phrase was often found in German reports from the theater of war... Dictionary winged words and expressions

“War spares no one.” This is true. Whether it is a defender or an aggressor, a soldier or a civilian, no one, looking into the face of death, will remain the same. No one is prepared for the horrors of war. Perhaps this is what Erich Remarque, the author of the work “All Quiet on the Western Front,” wanted to say.

History of the novel

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this work. Therefore, it would be correct to start with the history of the birth of the novel before presenting a summary. “All Quiet on the Western Front” Erich Maria Remarque wrote as a participant in those terrible events.

He went to the front in the early summer of 1917. Remarque spent several weeks on the front line, was wounded in August and remained in the hospital until the end of the war. But all the time he corresponded with his friend Georg Middendorf, who remained in position.

Remarque asked to report in as much detail as possible about life at the front and did not hide the fact that he wanted to write a book about the war. The summary begins with these events (“All Quiet on the Western Front”). Fragments of the novel contain a cruel but real picture of the terrible trials that befell the soldiers.

The war ended, but the lives of none of them returned to their previous course.

The company is resting

In the first chapter, the author shows the real life of soldiers - unheroic, terrifying. He emphasizes the extent to which the cruelty of war changes people - moral principles are lost, values ​​are lost. This is the generation that was destroyed by the war, even those who escaped the shells. The novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” begins with these words.

Rested soldiers go to breakfast. The cook prepared food for the entire company - 150 people. They want to take extra helpings of their fallen comrades. The main concern of the cook is not to give out anything beyond the norm. And only after a heated argument and the intervention of the company commander, the cook distributes all the food.

Kemmerich, one of Paul's classmates, was hospitalized with a thigh wound. The friends go to the infirmary, where they are informed that the guy’s leg has been amputated. Muller, seeing his strong English boots, argues that a one-legged man does not need them. The wounded man writhes in unbearable pain, and, in exchange for cigarettes, his friends persuade one of the orderlies to give their friend an injection of morphine. They left there with heavy hearts.

Kantorek, their teacher who persuaded them to join the army, sent them a pompous letter. He calls them “iron youth.” But the guys are no longer touched by words about patriotism. They unanimously accuse the class teacher of exposing them to the horrors of war. This is how the first chapter ends. Its summary. “All Quiet on the Western Front” reveals chapter by chapter the characters, feelings, aspirations, and dreams of these young guys who find themselves face to face with the war.

Death of a friend

Paul recalls his life before the war. As a student, he wrote poetry. Now he feels empty and cynical. All this seems so far away to him. Pre-war life is a vague, unrealistic dream that has no relation to the world created by the war. Paul feels completely cut off from humanity.

At school they were taught that patriotism requires the suppression of individuality and personality. Paul's platoon was trained by Himmelstoss. The former postman was a small, stocky man who tirelessly humiliated his recruits. Paul and his friends hated Himmelstoss. But Paul now knows that those humiliations and discipline toughened them up and probably helped them survive.

Kemmerich is close to death. He is saddened by the fact that he will never become the chief forester, as he dreamed. Paul sits next to his friend, comforting him and assuring him that he will get better and return home. Kemmerich says he is giving his boots to Müller. He becomes ill, and Paul goes to look for a doctor. When he returns, his friend is already dead. The body is immediately removed from the bed to make room.

It would seem that the summary of the second chapter ended with what cynical words. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” from chapter 4 of the novel, will reveal the true essence of the war. Once you come into contact with it, a person will not remain the same. War hardens, makes you indifferent - to orders, to blood, to death. She will never leave a person, but will always be with him - in memory, in body, in soul.

Young replenishment

A group of recruits arrives at the company. They are a year younger than Paul and his friends, which makes them feel like grizzled veterans. There is not enough food and blankets. Paul and his friends remember the barracks where they were recruits with longing. Himmelstoss's humiliations seem idyllic compared to real war. The guys remember the drill in the barracks and discuss the war.

Tjaden arrives and excitedly reports that Himmelstoss has arrived at the front. They remember his bullying and decide to take revenge on him. One night, as he was returning from the pub, they threw bedclothes over his head, took off his trousers and beat him with a whip, muffling his screams with a pillow. They retreated so quickly that Himmelstoss never found out who his offenders were.

Night shelling

The company is sent at night to the front line for sapper work. Paul reflects that for a soldier the land takes on a new meaning at the front: it saves him. Here ancient animal instincts awaken, which save many people if you obey them without hesitation. At the front, the instinct of the beast awakens in men, Paul argues. He understands how much a person degrades, surviving in inhuman conditions. This is clearly evident from the summary of “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

Chapter 4 will shed light on what it was like for young, unexamined boys to find themselves at the front. During the shelling, a recruit lies next to Paul, clinging to him, as if seeking protection. When the shots died down a little, he admitted with horror that he had defecated in his pants. Paul explains to the boy that many soldiers face this problem. You can hear the painful neighing of wounded horses struggling in agony. The soldiers finish them off, saving them from suffering.

The shelling begins with renewed vigor. Paul crawled out of his hiding place and saw that the same boy who was clinging to him out of fear was seriously wounded.

Terrifying reality

The fifth chapter begins with a description of the unsanitary living conditions at the front. The soldiers sit, stripped to the waist, crushing lice and discussing what they will do after the war. They calculated that out of twenty people from their class, only twelve remained. Seven are dead, four are wounded, and one has gone mad. They mockingly repeat the questions that Kantorek asked them at school. Paul has no idea what he will do after the war. Kropp concludes that the war has destroyed everything. They cannot believe in anything other than war.

The fighting continues

The company is sent to the front line. Their path lies through the school, along the facade of which there are brand new coffins. Hundreds of coffins. The soldiers joke about this. But on the front line it turns out that the enemy has received reinforcements. Everyone is in a depressed mood. Night and day pass in tense anticipation. They sit in trenches where disgusting fat rats scurry about.

The soldier has no choice but to wait. Days pass before the earth begins to shake with explosions. Almost nothing remained of their trench. Trial by fire is too much of a shock for new recruits. One of them became furious and tried to escape. Apparently he's gone crazy. The soldiers tie him up, but the other recruit manages to escape.

Another night has passed. Suddenly the nearby explosions stop. The enemy begins to attack. German soldiers repulse the attack and reach enemy positions. All around are the screams and groans of the wounded, mutilated corpses. Paul and his comrades need to return. But before doing this, they greedily grab cans of stew and note that the enemy has much more better conditions than theirs.

Paul reminisces about the past. These memories hurt. Suddenly the fire fell on their positions with renewed force. Chemical attacks claim the lives of many. They die a painful, slow death from suffocation. Everyone runs out of their hiding places. But Himmelstoss hides in a trench and pretends to be wounded. Paul tries to drive him out with blows and threats.

There are explosions all around, and it seems that the whole earth is bleeding. New soldiers are brought in to replace them. The commander calls their company to the vehicles. The roll call begins. Of the 150 people, thirty-two remained.

After reading the summary of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” we see that the company twice suffers huge losses. The heroes of the novel return to duty. But the worst thing is another war. War against degradation, against stupidity. War with yourself. But here victory is not always on your side.

Paul goes home

The company is sent to the rear, where it will be reorganized. Having experienced horror before the battles, Himmelstoss tries to “rehabilitate himself” - he gets good food for the soldiers and an easy job. Away from the trenches they try to joke. But the humor becomes too bitter and dark.

Paul gets seventeen days of vacation. In six weeks he must report to the training unit, and then to the front. He wonders how many of his friends will survive during this time. Paul comes to hometown and sees that the civilian population is starving. He learns from his sister that his mother has cancer. Relatives ask Paul how things are going at the front. But he doesn't have enough words to describe all this horror.

Paul sits in his bedroom with his books and paintings, trying to bring back his childhood feelings and desires, but the memories are only shadows. His identity as a soldier is the only thing he has now. The end of the holiday approaches, and Paul visits the mother of Kemmerich's deceased friend. She wants to know how he died. Paul lies to her that her son died without suffering or pain.

Mother sits with Paul in the bedroom all last night. He pretends to be asleep, but notices that his mother severe pain. He makes her go to bed. Paul returns to his room, and from the surge of feelings, from hopelessness, he squeezes the iron bars of the bed and thinks that it would be better if he had not come. It only got worse. Sheer pain - from pity for her mother, for herself, from the realization that there is no end to this horror.

Camp with prisoners of war

Paul arrives at the training unit. There is a prisoner of war camp next to their barracks. Russian prisoners stealthily walk around their barracks and rummage through waste bins. Paul cannot understand what they find there. They are starving, but Paul notes that the prisoners treat each other like brothers. They are in such a pitiful situation that Paul has no reason to hate them.

Prisoners are dying every day. Russians bury several people at a time. Paul sees the terrible conditions they are in, but pushes away thoughts of pity so as not to lose his composure. He shares cigarettes with prisoners. One of them found out that Paul played the piano and began to play the violin. She sounds thin and lonely, and this makes her even more sad.

Return to duty

Paul arrives at the location and finds his friends alive and unharmed. He shares with them the products he brought. While waiting for the Kaiser to arrive, the soldiers are tortured with drills and work. They were given new clothes, which was immediately taken away after his departure.

Paul volunteers to gather information about enemy forces. The area is being shelled with machine guns. A flare flashes above Paul, and he realizes that he must lie still. Footsteps were heard, and someone's heavy body fell on him. Paul reacts with lightning speed - strikes with a dagger.

Paul cannot watch the enemy he wounded die. He crawls over to him, bandages his wounds and gives water to their flasks. A few hours later he dies. Paul finds letters in his wallet, a photo of a woman and a little girl. From the documents, he guessed that it was a French soldier.

Paul talks to the dead soldier and explains that he did not want to kill him. Every word he reads plunges Paul into a feeling of guilt and pain. He rewrites the address and decides to send money to his family. Paul promises that if he remains alive, he will do everything to ensure that this never happens again.

Three weeks feast

Paul and his friends guard a food warehouse in an abandoned village. They decided to use this time with pleasure. They covered the floor in the dugout with mattresses from abandoned houses. We got eggs and fresh butter. They caught two piglets that miraculously survived. Potatoes, carrots, and young peas were found in the fields. And they arranged a feast for themselves.

A well-fed life lasted three weeks. After which they were evacuated to neighboring village. The enemy began shelling, Kropp and Paul were wounded. They are picked up by an ambulance, which is full of wounded. They are operated on in the infirmary and sent by train to the hospital.

One of the nurses had difficulty persuading Paul to lie down on the snow-white sheets. He is not yet ready to return to the fold of civilization. Dirty clothes and lice make him feel uncomfortable here. Classmates are sent to a Catholic hospital.

Soldiers die in hospital every day. Kropp's entire leg is amputated. He says he will shoot himself. Paul thinks the hospital is the best place to find out what war is. He wonders what awaits his generation after the war.

Paul receives leave to recover at home. Leaving for the front and parting with your mother is even more difficult than the first time. She is even weaker than before. This is the summary of the tenth chapter. “All Quiet on the Western Front” is a story that covers not only military operations, but also the behavior of heroes on the battlefield.

The novel reveals how, facing death and cruelty every day, Paul begins to feel uncomfortable in peaceful life. He rushes about, trying to find peace of mind at home, next to his family. But nothing comes of it. Deep down, he understands that he will never find him again.

Terrible losses

The war rages but german army weakens noticeably. Paul stopped counting the days and weeks that went by in battle. The pre-war years are “no longer valid” because they have ceased to mean anything. The life of a soldier is a constant avoidance of death. They reduce you to the level of mindless animals, because instinct is the best weapon against an inexorable mortal danger. This helps them survive.

Spring. The food is bad. The soldiers were emaciated and hungry. Detering brought a cherry blossom branch and remembered the house. He soon deserts. They caught him and caught him. No one heard anything more about him.

Muller is killed. Leer was wounded in the thigh and is bleeding. Berting was wounded in the chest, Kat - in the shin. Paul drags the wounded Kat on himself, they talk. Exhausted, Paul stops. The orderlies come up and say that Kat is dead. Paul did not notice that his comrade was wounded in the head. Paul doesn't remember anything else.

Defeat is inevitable

Autumn. 1918 Paul is the only one of his classmates who survived. Bloody battles continue. The United States joins the enemy. Everyone understands that Germany's defeat is inevitable.

After being gassed, Paul rests for two weeks. He sits under a tree and imagines how he will return home. He gets scared. He thinks that they will all return as living corpses. Shells of people, empty inside, tired, lost hope. Paul finds this thought hard to bear. He feels that he own life was irretrievably destroyed.

Paul was killed in October. On an unusually quiet peaceful day. When he was turned over, his face was calm, as if to say that he was glad that everything ended this way. At this time, a report was transmitted from the front line: “No change on the Western Front.”

The meaning of the novel

First World War made adjustments to world politics, became a catalyst for revolution and the collapse of empires. These changes affected everyone's lives. About war, suffering, friendship - this is exactly what the author wanted to say. This is clearly shown in the summary.

Remarque wrote “All Quiet on the Western Front” in 1929. The subsequent World Wars were bloodier and more brutal. Therefore, the theme raised by Remarque in the novel was continued in his subsequent books and in the works of other writers.

Undoubtedly, this novel is a grandiose event in the arena of world literature of the 20th century. This work not only sparked debate about its literary merits, but also caused enormous political resonance.

The novel is one of the hundred must-read books. The work requires not only an emotional attitude, but also a philosophical one. This is evidenced by the style and manner of narration, the author’s style and summary. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” as some sources testify, is second only to the Bible in terms of circulation and readability.

This book is neither an accusation nor a confession. This is only an attempt to tell about the generation that was destroyed by the war, about those who became its victims, even if they escaped from the shells.

We are standing nine kilometers from the front line. Yesterday we were replaced; Now our stomachs are full of beans and meat, and we all walk around full and satisfied. Even for dinner, everyone got a full pot; In addition, we get a double portion of bread and sausage - in a word, we live well. This hasn’t happened to us for a long time: our kitchen god with his crimson, like a tomato, bald head himself offers us more food; he waves the ladle, inviting passers-by, and pours out hefty portions to them. He still won’t empty his “squeaker,” and this drives him into despair. Tjaden and Müller obtained several basins from somewhere and filled them to the brim - in reserve. Tjaden did it out of gluttony, Müller out of caution. Where everything that Tjaden eats goes is a mystery to all of us. He still remains as skinny as a herring.

But the most important thing is that the smoke was also given out in double portions. Each person had ten cigars, twenty cigarettes and two bars of chewing tobacco. Overall, pretty decent. I exchanged Katchinsky’s cigarettes for my tobacco, so now I have forty in total. You can last one day.

But, strictly speaking, we are not entitled to all this at all. The management is not capable of such generosity. We were just lucky.

Two weeks ago we were sent to the front line to relieve another unit. It was quite calm in our area, so by the day of our return the captain received allowances according to the usual distribution and ordered to cook for a company of one hundred and fifty people. But just on the last day, the British suddenly brought up their heavy “meat grinders”, most unpleasant things, and beat them on our trenches for so long that we suffered heavy losses, and only eighty people returned from the front line.

We arrived at the rear at night and immediately stretched out on our bunks to first get a good night's sleep; Katchinsky is right: the war would not be so bad if only one could sleep more. You never get much sleep on the front line, and two weeks drag on for a long time.

When the first of us began to crawl out of the barracks, it was already midday. Half an hour later, we grabbed our pots and gathered at the “squeaker” dear to our hearts, which smelled of something rich and tasty. Of course, the first in line were those who always had the biggest appetite: short Albert Kropp, the brightest head in our company and, probably for this reason, only recently promoted to corporal; Muller the Fifth, who still carries textbooks with him and dreams of passing preferential exams; under hurricane fire he crams the laws of physics; Leer, who wears a full beard and has a weakness for girls from brothels for officers; he swears that there is an army order obliging these girls to wear silk underwear, and to take a bath before receiving visitors with the rank of captain and above; the fourth is me, Paul Bäumer. All four were nineteen years old, all four went to the front from the same class.

Immediately behind us are our friends: Tjaden, a mechanic, a frail young man of the same age as us, the most gluttonous soldier in the company - for food he sits thin and slender, and after eating, he stands up pot-bellied, like a sucked bug; Haye Westhus, also our age, is a peat worker who can freely take a loaf of bread in his hand and ask: Well, guess what’s in my fist? "; Detering, a peasant who thinks only about his farm and his wife; and, finally, Stanislav Katchinsky, the soul of our squad, a man with character, smart and cunning - he is forty years old, he has a sallow face, blue eyes, sloping shoulders, and an extraordinary sense of smell about when the shelling will begin, where he can get hold of food and What's the best way to hide from your boss?

Our section headed the line that formed near the kitchen. We began to get impatient as the unsuspecting cook was still waiting for something.

Finally Katchinsky shouted to him:

Well, open up your glutton, Heinrich! And so you can see that the beans are cooked!

The cook shook his head sleepily:

Let everyone gather first.

Tjaden grinned:

And we are all here! The cook still didn't notice anything:

Hold your pocket wider! Where are the others?

They are not on your payroll today! Some are in the infirmary, and some are in the ground!

Upon learning of what had happened, the kitchen god was struck down. He was even shaken:

And I cooked for a hundred and fifty people! Kropp poked him in the side with his fist.

So, at least once we'll eat our fill. Come on, start the distribution!

At that moment, a sudden thought struck Tjaden. His face, sharp as a mouse, lit up, his eyes squinted slyly, his cheekbones began to play, and he came closer:

Heinrich, my friend, so you got bread for a hundred and fifty people?

The dumbfounded cook nodded absently.

Tjaden grabbed him by the chest:

And sausage too? The cook nodded again with his head as purple as a tomato. Tjaden's jaw dropped:

And tobacco?

Well, yes, that's it.

Tjaden turned to us, his face beaming:

Damn it, that's lucky! After all, now everything will go to us! It will be - wait for it! - that’s right, exactly two servings per nose!

But then the Tomato came to life again and said:

It won't work that way.

Now we, too, shook off our sleep and squeezed closer.

Hey you, carrot, why won't it work? - asked Katchinsky.

Yes, because eighty is not one hundred and fifty!

“But we’ll show you how to do it,” Muller grumbled.

You’ll get the soup, so be it, but I’ll only give you bread and sausage for eighty,” Tomato continued to persist.

Katchinsky lost his temper:

I wish I could send you to the front line just once! You received food not for eighty people, but for the second company, that’s it. And you will give them away! The second company is us.

We took Pomodoro into circulation. Everyone disliked him: more than once, through his fault, lunch or dinner ended up in our trenches cold, very late, since even with the most insignificant fire he did not dare to move closer with his cauldron, and our food bearers had to crawl much further than theirs. brothers from other companies. Here is Bulke from the first company, he was much better. Even though he was as fat as a hamster, if necessary, he dragged his kitchen almost to the very front.

We were in a very belligerent mood, and things would probably have come to a fight if the company commander had not appeared at the scene. Having learned what we were arguing about, he only said:

Yes, yesterday we had big losses...

Then he looked into the cauldron:

And the beans seem to be quite good.

The tomato nodded:

With lard and beef.

The lieutenant looked at us. He understood what we were thinking. In general, he understood a lot - after all, he himself came from our midst: he came to the company as a non-commissioned officer. He lifted the lid of the cauldron again and sniffed. As he left, he said:

Bring me a plate too. And distribute portions for everyone. Why should good things disappear?

Tomato's face took on a stupid expression. Tjaden danced around him:

It’s okay, it won’t hurt you! He imagines that he is in charge of the entire quartermaster service. Now get started, old rat, and make sure you don’t miscalculate!..

Get lost, hanged man! - Tomato hissed. He was ready to burst with anger; everything that happened could not fit into his head, he did not understand what was going on in this world. And as if wanting to show that now everything was the same to him, he himself handed out another half pound artificial honey on my brother.

Today turned out to be a good day indeed. Even the mail arrived; almost everyone received several letters and newspapers. Now we slowly wander to the meadow behind the barracks. Kropp carries a round margarine barrel lid under his arm.

On the right edge of the meadow there is a large soldiers' latrine - a well-built structure under a roof. However, it is of interest only to recruits who have not yet learned to benefit from everything. We are looking for something better for ourselves. The fact is that here and there in the meadow there are single cabins intended for the same purpose. These are quadrangular boxes, neat, made entirely of boards, closed on all sides, with a magnificent, very comfortable seat. They have handles on the sides so the booths can be moved.

This is a adaptation of the novel that Erich Maria Remarque released in 1929. The First World War is presented to the viewer through the perception of the young soldier Paul Bäumer. While still schoolchildren, Bäumer and his friends eagerly listened to the patriotic speeches of their teacher and, as soon as the opportunity arose, they signed up as volunteers for the front. Everything that happens next is obvious: the severity of training and the rudeness of commanders, trench mud, protracted battles, deaths and serious injuries - Bäumer and his friends hate war more and more. Returning to his home school during vacation, Bäumer tries to convince his teacher and peers that there is nothing more disgusting than war, but they consider him a defeatist and a traitor. Bäumer can only return to the front and die.

Remarque's novel became a notable event even before it was published in full; it was published in parts in the German newspaper Vossische Zeitung. The rights to publish the translation were immediately purchased by many countries, and Hollywood immediately responded to the most anti-war work of its era with a large-scale film production in the format of a still poorly mastered sound film. However, a silent version with intertitles was created for cinemas that were not yet equipped to play sound.

The battle scenes were filmed in California, involving more than 2,000 extras, with a camera attached to a huge mobile crane flying over the “field.” Director Lewis Milestone, for whom this was the first sound film in his career, tried not only to convey all the cruelty and depressiveness of the novel, but also enhanced Remarque’s pacifist pathos to the maximum. He fundamentally abandoned the musical accompaniment for the film and the happy ending that the producers insisted on: he not only “killed” Bäumer, but also staged a scene at the end of the film with a vast cemetery and the faces of dead soldiers. The Universal studio agreed with the director reluctantly: the financial crisis had already begun, and releasing an expensive film was a risk.

Still from the film. Photo: Nnm.me

Still from the film. Photo: Nnm.me

Milestone found veterans in California specifically for this filming. great war, German immigrants. At first it was assumed that they would serve as experts and become a guarantor of the authenticity of uniforms, weapons, etc. But there were so many veterans that Milestone not only took many of them into the crowd, but also invited them to seriously train actors as recruits. Therefore, some training scenes can be considered almost documentary. Milestone even thought about calling main role Remarque himself, but in the end she was played by Lew Ayres. The actor was so imbued with the pacifist spirit of the film that he subsequently refused to go to the front during World War II and was subjected to severe persecution - to the point of a ban on films with his participation in the United States.

In the US, the film received two Oscars in the categories " Best movie" And " Best Director" But in Germany, the Nazi party organized riots in cinemas where the film was shown - this process was personally led by Goebbels. As a result, the German government was forced to ban the film's distribution in Germany, and this ban was lifted only in 1956. However, the film was shown with great success in France, Holland and Switzerland, and a special bus and train service was established so that the Germans could go specifically to watch the film directly to the desired cinema.

The original version of the film lasts more than two hours, but subsequently it was released more than once in shortened versions. For its 100th anniversary, Universal Studios released a restored complete edition of the film on Blu-Ray.