All Quiet on the Western Front illustrates the destruction of an entire generation of men. Erich Maria Remarque shows using the experiences of Paul Baumer and his comrades that during the Great War, life ends even if you can escape death. Those soldiers who lived through wartime, felt alienated from their former societies. This is result of a new sense of values amongst the men at war. Those at home were concerned with the outcome of the war, while the men in the trenches only wanted to see another day. These men did everything possible to stay alive, even if it meant betraying their morals and values. They did these things in hopes of one day going home, even though going home could never reinstall the youth that was pulled from them. The betrayal and alienation felt by the young soldiers would never receive reparation.
             When Paul goes home on leave, he experiences a feeling of separation from the town's people. "There is a distance, a veil between us." (page.160). Many of the older people at home have their own idea of what's going on at the front. "They all come back to the same thing, how badly it goes; and how well it goes; one thinks it's this way, and another that; and yet they are all absorbed in the things that make up their existence" (page.168). The people at home feel a great sense of pride in the war, while the men at the front are getting eradicated. Paul's first encounter of this overwhelming pride is in his father. When Paul gets home he changes into his civilian clothing, but this is faced with protest from his father. "My father would rather I kept my uniform on so that he could take me to visit his acquaintances."(page.164). This is so Paul's father can show off what a good soldier his son has become. Even though Paul's father soon ceases with the uniform, he constantly asks Paul about the front. "I tell him a few amusing things. But he wants to know...