Post-war Dreams

The fact that the term "post-war era"could easily be associated with another period than that of 1945 and beyond, is a great testimony of the turbulent and ideological-willing times of Germany and the whole of continental Europe during most of the twentieth century. Countries and old beliefs were swept aside under the reign of wars, dictators and ideologies who would seek out to take over or destroy any resistance on its way - be it with either flags or caterpillar tracks.

During all these periods, especially after first World War, some anti-war forces wanted to make not only an attack on the people who had started the war in the first place, but an attack on the thinking of warfare itself. A man who believed that warfare rose ethical and philosophical dilemmas was German WWI veteran Erich Maria Remarque. He was the man who, in 1929, wrote the original novel to the much better known Hollywoodian war epic production: "All Quiet on the Western Front". The 1930 film had typical features of early film making; a nowadays very excessive symbolism and moralism of how meaningless and "sad" the war was which didn't leave a lot for the viewer to interpret. But at the same time it provided a deep psychological aspect of the war's impact on those involved; the post-traumatic stress and deep despair of the loss of their friends - and foes. This happens as a young German soldier stabs a French opponent with his bayonet during an attack. The French soldier does not die instantly from his wound, and the young soldier is mortified by what he has done and realizes that he probably has a family waiting for him at home as well. Remarque wants to show us that a German or French soldier are equally human and that the war propaganda produced by different factions were nothing but lies.

A frame from the 1930 film "All Quiet on the Western Front"
who won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director

The start of the film shows how a teacher stirs up his students to enroll as volunteers in the War and, as the teacher says himself, to lead the young and bright boys into war. This shows us how belligerent and irresponsible the conservative aristocracy, with their position of power, had glorified the war and deceived generations of naive young men. And as Herbert Hoover famously once said: "Older men declare war, but it is the youth that must fight and die."

All in all the film is a modest attempt to show what war does to people and furthermore, to "post"-rationalize first World War to convince its audience that mankind would not benefit from such a matter once again. But despite all efforts it did happen again.

Not long after Hitler's inauguration the 30th of January 1933, when NSDAP became the only legal party in Germany, "All Quiet on the Western Front" and the rest of his works were banned as Joseph Goebbels through propaganda claimed Remarque was: "a descendant of French Jews and that his real last name was Kramer".

Remarque joins the list of German "Exillitteratur"- writers who fled from Germany in that period to seek shelter from prosecution or harassment from the state.