Theme of destruction in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria StratégieEveryone knows what war is. It is a nation that takes all of its men, its resources, its weapons and most of its money and carries them maliciously against another nation. War means death, destruction, disease, loss, pain, suffering and hatred. I often wonder why intelligent, adult individuals can't solve problems better than by taking up arms and crawling, struggling and fighting like animals. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque brings all of these aspects of war into a vivid story that recounts the horrors of World War I through the eyes of a soldier. The idea he conveys most throughout this book is the idea of ​​destruction, the destruction of bodies, minds, and innocence. The author begins his book with a note highlighting the meaning of this book. It is as follows: This book should be neither an accusation nor a confession, and even less an adventure, because death is not an adventure for those who find themselves facing it. It will simply attempt to tell the story of a generation of men who, even if they escaped the shells, were destroyed by the war. (Intro) Right after reading this paragraph, I knew that none of this book was intended to be comical or heroic. This wouldn't be one of those stupid stories that romanticizes war and makes heroes out of men who kill more enemies than anyone else; this book was about destruction. These few lines preceding the first chapter set the tone for the rest of the book. There is no glory in this story, only death and sadness. The story unfolds through the eyes of a German infantryman named Paul Baumer. He is nineteen years old and has just joined the German army after high school thanks to the persuasion of one of his teachers, Mr. Kantorek. Paul remembers how he used all class time to lecture students, looking through his glasses and saying, “Aren't you joining the classmates? »(10). He was a man who loved war. He loved the “glory” of war. He loved it so much that he persuaded all the boys in his class to join the army. He must have imagined how proud they would be to walk on that field in their military gear..