Format 1
World War I was a war that consisted of long waits, unknowing, and the sound of bombs and gun fire from all direction. The men who survive would never be able to look at the world with the naivety they once had. "We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing from ourselves, from our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces." . For the men who fought their innocence was forever shattered as they were not able to look at civilian life the same way. The men and women who were not fighting in the war saw the soldiers on their side of the conflict as heroes who were doing their service to their country. They were unaware of the darker side of the conflict. This is because of the propaganda that was released by the government and in some cases the charisma of one’s leader. Stalin was an example of this, he was a charismatic leader who the Russian people were willing to follow despite the rumors of his cruelty. Instead, the Russian people chose to ignore the fact that Stalin was responsible for a number of atrocities against his people. The Soviets refused to acknowledge such things. In its place, they focused on work that would block their thoughts. This ignoring of reality was not just something that affected the Russian people, it was something that every country was guilty of during WWI. This was because the sense of nationalism was so strong that the populace of every European country felt that it was necessary to present their leader as being the best despite their flaws.
Format 2
The general populace at the time was very nationalized in Europe because there had been various conflicts going on. This was something that was encouraged by the leaders of their respective countries. When the first World war began in 1918 fighting for one’s country was seen as something to be proud of. This was further promoted by the propaganda of the time, which heavily suggested that if a man did not fight they were unpatriotic and weak.
In regards to rather or not fictional stories like “All Quiet on the Western Front” helped people understand what war was like and how it affected soldiers, especially when they would return home for a break to see that people were living their lives with no idea of what was really going on in the war. The book was beneficial in helping the general public to understand what life was like for the men who were fighting. This is something that would have been valuable in understanding the behavior of soldiers once they returned home from the War as many of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) along with physical wounds.
Works Cited
Remarque, Erich M, and A W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front. N.p., 1982. Print.
