“But for peace? Are we suitable? Are we fit for anything but soldering?”

That’s the essential question of the German soldiers returning from the front after World War I, a war that they did not win. How do they fit back into 'regular' life? And can they? Can they have real relationships with women? Can they have proper manners at the table and in social situations? Can they find a reason to get jobs, get married, have families, and lead proper lives after all that they have seen and gone through in the war? In many cases, they simply can't.

This book takes us into the lives of these soldiers who have returned to their former lives. It is raw and intense. They went away as teenagers and returned as old men, not in age, but in life. Their statements at the trial of one of their friends really lay it out there for all to see. The war, and the defeat, have destroyed these men. It is one brutally honest truth to read these pages.

“All else went west in the war, but comradeship we did believe in; now only to find that what death could not do, life is achieving; it is driving us asunder.” ( )

Hamisítatlan pacifista propaganda, de a csúcskategóriás fajtából. Remarque a maga érzelmességet, humort és horrort ötvöző néptanító-stílusában leltárt készít mindazon dolgokról, amik az első világháborúból hazatérő német frontkatonákat várták. A Nyugaton a helyzet változatlan szerves továbbgondolásáról van itt szó, kicsit szószaporítón, de talán még gondolatébresztőbben is, mint ahogy azt a méltán népszerű klasszikus előzmény teszi. Helyenként persze már-már idegesítően didaktikus, és akit irritál az irodalomban a népművelés, néha majd a fejét csóválja*, de engem bőven kárpótolt, hogy ebben a könyvben bukkan fel talán először annak a problémának a részletes, mégis emészthető irodalmi kibontása, amit manapság poszttraumatikus stressz szindrómának neveznek. És hát az is nagyon ügyes, ahogy Remarque fogja a bajtársiasság éthoszát (azt az erényt, amit ő is, meg a barnaingesek is nagyra becsültek), és bemutatja, a fasiszta fogalomértelmezés hogyan semmisíti meg annak valódi értéktartalmát.

Van ebben a könyvben amúgy egy kép, ami nagyon megragadott: a hazatérő katonák tanácstalansága, amikor a meglátják a háború által nem érintett otthoni városokat. Aztán még az is, amikor a végén az erdőben pihenő veteránok látják a következő generációt, a tejfölösszájú kamaszokat lelkesülten gyakorlatozni. Ennek a résznek a keserűsége jelzi, Remarque tudatában volt annak, irodalma nem fogja megmenteni a történelemtől a németeket. Mondjuk a második világháborúból hazatérő katonákat legalább sikerült Hitlernek megkímélnie attól a sokktól, hogy Németországot romlatlan állapotban lássák viszont… Gratula.

* Engem amúgy idegesít. És néha csóváltam is a fejem. Ugyanakkor ha valamikor szükség volt népnevelésre az irodalomban, akkor az a német ’30-as évek, és ha valaki jól csinálja a népnevelést, akkor az Remarque. ( )

I mean it was okay but the lads felt like movie characters and tbh there wasn't enough gore. ( )

The war is over and the soldiers go home. What they find there is not what they spent four years dreaming about. When they get home there is protest all over Germany. Those who did not serve are giving lofty speeches about what the soldiers did on the battlefield to the returning soldiers who knew what happened. Ernst and several of the others go back to school to finish their educations but they have a hard time with it. They are too battle weary and too emotionally scarred to fit in to civilian life. Some go back to their "aristocratic" lifestyle and forget the camaraderie of the Front. Others try to get back their old lives but have changed too much to understand those who stayed home. Others try but cannot fit in. Some have breakdowns; others commit suicide. Those who were not in battle have no understanding what these men have gone through. Ernst tells it like it is and Ludwig does also. None who came home alive escaped unscarred.

This sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front shows what is like for those coming back and the disrespect given to them, especially if on the losing side. A generation was lost. No one cares but these men whose lives were stolen and broken. This is a book that should be taught in school so that those who will be called to serve in future wars know that it is not glory and victory that come from war but loss--of self, of friends, of home, of life. Was it worth it? Ludwig was right. It was not. ( )

This book is a sequel of sorts, to All Quiet On The Western Front. It starts with the "Band of Brothers" making their way back after the war. The sound of silence is new to them. On the way, they meet a band of American soldiers, with whom they exchange souvenirs for food.
They wonder - why did we want to kill them?

From there, Erich Maria Remarque takes you on the long road, back to their homes, where they try to integrate back into society.

War is cruel. There is no redemption for the survivors, and those were the days when the stress faced by the soldier was not well appreciated.

The stories, slow as they are, are powerful and can shake you. In the days of old, kings and generals would be in the thick of war. In today's times, leaders hide behind microphones and in War Rooms. Posturing is rampant. Yet, the horrors of war remain.

This book, although written many years back, is relevant today. Very much so. ( )