"All Quiet on the Western Front" is based on the author's experiences in World War I, and depicts the battlefield endured by ordinary soldiers in a calm and untroubled manner, without any emotional involvement.
The protagonist, Paul Boehmer, enlisted with his classmates at the urging of his homeroom teacher, who was filled with vain patriotism.
When I enlisted and came to the battlefield, it was different from anything I had imagined.
In the midst of war, they have become machines that care nothing about anything other than survival and basic needs, and even if peace comes, they are in a state where they are not at all sure whether they will be able to live as normal human beings again.
What kept them human was the camaraderie that blossomed on the battlefield, but that too was vain.
Because all of his friends, including the protagonist, could not escape death.