World War I undoubtedly changed the political boundaries and economic system of Europe (as seen in Chapter 3 of Findley's Twentieth Century World textbook). However, in the midst of all the political and economic changes, the human toll is sometimes overlooked. With the declaration of World War I, an entire generation was set up to be lost. It is this "lost generation" that is presented in Erich Remarque's novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. The loss of an entire generation in World War I did not happen overnight. It happened slowly as the generation set out on a journey in which it was manipulated using nationalism and pride, socially rearranged, desensitized, and ultimately "lost".
             This lost generation is presented in the novel through the example of a young German boy, Paul Baumer, and his army comrades. Shortly after the start of World War I, Paul and his school mates were persuaded to enlist in the army by their schoolmaster, Kantorek. The boys entered the war with ideas of heroism and glory established by a strong sense of nationalism in their home country. However, it was not long before, the 19-year-olds discovered that war is no glorious thing. Over time Paul and his comrades befriended other soldiers of all ages who eventually became their surrogate family. Paul and his comrades go through many battles and watch the destruction of human life over and over again. They begin to become disillusioned in regards to militarism, traditional class divisions, nationalism and the war itself. The soldiers realize that they are fighting someone else's war. One by one they fall to the enemy, until finally, in an ironic twist, Paul dies on the quietest day of his military career. And this, in summary, is how Remarque presents the phenomena of how an entire generation was lost in one war.
             The boys volunteered for the war because of the persuasion of Kantorek, their nationalistic scho...