by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: January 06, 2009   Last Updated: November 02, 2010

The First World War was the first total war in which the act of war impinged on every aspect of life. The fighting may have been going on many miles away, but nobody, even those at home, could escape its effects. European nations in particular suffered as a result of the Great War, and there was a great belief, or at least a hope, that this war was going to be the war to end all wars; that never again would Europe turn on itself. This was not to be, but 'All Quiet on the Western Front' came at a time when there was still a commitment to preventing war, and it very effectively tapped into this pacifistic ideal.

Prior to the First World War the literary landscape had looked very different. There was no hope for peace, but rather an active seeking of action. Adventure books were the staple for any young boy in which the hero of the novel would travel to distant lands and perform various acts of heroism. Magazines and youth movements, such as the Scouts, helped to perpetuate this idea of heroism, national pride, and militarism.

During the late nineteenth century the new imperialism had taken hold as European nations competed for 'new' lands, particularly in Africa. Indeed, there was very much a feeling of superiority amongst Europeans; an idea that the races of other nations were inferior to their own, and that they therefore had a right to claim these lands as their own and attempt to 'civilise' the people.

This was very much the ethos of British public schools in which the notion of a muscular Christianity was regarded as the ideal. Following Christian principles was regarded as important, as was a masculinity characterised by great physical strength. Thus sports, such as rugby, formed a great part of the curriculum and helped embody a sense of team spirit in the boys.

It is therefore unsurprising that so many of these young men signed up to fight in the Great War, as it seemed to offer them a forum in which to put into practice the ideals which had influenced them from very early on in their lives. Here was an opportunity to perform heroic acts in the name of their country. This perhaps accounts for the disproportionate number of British officers, drawn from public schools and universities, killed on the front line.

Young men from other social classes were also swept up by the patriotic fervour which accompanied the outbreak of war, and they too suffered in the trenches, though often it was the accounts of middle-class soldiers that reached the public consciousness

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