All Quiet on the Western Front

Thirty thousand.

From the Russians?

No, from the French.

From the Russians, we capture more than that every day.

Mr. Postman.

War is war and schnapps is schnapps, but business must go on.

You didn't leave the mail yet this morning.

Ah, I'm sorry, Mr. Meyer.

Hello, Himmelstoss. Anything for us today?

No, no, Master Peter.

C'mon, there must be something.

Here, here you go, young rascal.

There. This is the last mail I deliver, anyhow.

What?

Tomorrow I change uniform.

You're going in the army?

Yes, I was called.

I'm a sergeant in the reserves, you know.

I'll be called myself, if it doesn't end in a few months.

It will, though.

I'm sure you're right, Mr. Meyer.

...and join the mighty army

that is defending our country, our fatherland.

Now, my beloved class, this is what we must do.

Strike with all our power.

Give every ounce of strength

to win victory before the end of the year.

It is with reluctance that I bring this subject up again.

You are the life of the fatherland, you boys.

You are the iron men of Germany.

You are the gay heroes who will repulse the enemy

when you are called upon to do so.

It is not for me to suggest that any of you

should stand up and offer to defend his country.

But I wonder if such a thing is going through your heads.

I know that in one of the schools

the boys have risen up in the classroom

and enlisted in a mass.

But, of course, if such a thing should happen here

you would not blame me for a feeling of pride.

Perhaps some will say

that you should not be allowed to go yet,

that you are too young, that you have homes, mothers, fathers,

that you should not be torn away.

Are your fathers so forgetful of their fatherland

that they would let it perish rather than you?

Are your mothers so weak that they cannot send a son

to defend the land which gave them birth?

And after all, is a little experience

such a bad thing for a boy?

Is the honor of wearing a uniform

something from which we should run?

And if our young ladies glory in those who wear it,

is that anything to be ashamed of?

I know you have never desired the adulation of heroes.

That has not been part of my teaching.

We have sought to make ourselves worthy

and let acclaim come when it would.

But to be foremost in battle

is a virtue not to be despised.

I believe it will be a quick war,

that there will be few losses.

But if losses there must be,

then let us remember the Latin phrase

which must have come to the lips of many a Roman

when he stood embattled in a foreign land,

"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."

"Sweet and fitting it is to die for the fatherland."

Some of you may have ambitions.

I know of one young man who has great promise as a writer

and he has written the first act of a tragedy

which would be a credit to one of the masters.

And he is dreaming, I suppose,

of following in the footsteps of Goethe and Schiller,

and I hope he will.

But now our country calls.

The fatherland needs leaders.

Personal ambition must be thrown aside

in the one great sacrifice for our country.

Here is a glorious beginning for your lives.

The field of honor calls you.

Why are we here?

You, Kropp, what has kept you back?

You, Mueller, you know how much you are needed?

Ah, I see you look at your leader.

And I, too, look to you, Paul Bäumer,

and I wonder what you are going to do.

- I'll go. - I want to go.

Count on me.

Me, too.

I'm ready.

I'm not gonna stay home.

Follow me! Enlist now!

No more classes!

- Don't be a quitter. - Come on, Behn!

Stick together. That's what we've got to do.

Let's all stick together.

Come on, Behn.

All right. All right.

I'll go.

That's the way!

Let's go!

Sing! Let's sing! Come on!

Keep in line, there, soldiers.

Anything you say, General.

Detail, halt!

Left face!

Get into uniform, ready to report. Fall out.

I bet you a place like this gets you in good condition.

You have to be for the long marches.

I'm gonna get in the cavalry and ride.

No cavalry for me.

Infantry's where you see the fighting.

Where are all the guns? That's what I want to know.

Oh, you don't get a gun for a long while yet.

Well, if I'm gonna bump off the enemy, I gotta have some practice.

Ow!

Bayonet drill. That's what I want.

You won a medal that time, Mueller.

You wait. In about a month, I'll be covered with them.

Say, keep your boots out of my face.

Why, it's an honor to have those boots in your face.

They're the best pair in the army. My uncle gave them to me.

Just look at that special imported leather.

Put them anyplace you like, except in my face.

Not even a kitchen maid'll look at me in this.

Attention!

Well, for the love of... It's Himmelstoss!

So it is.

And all dressed up.

Hello, Himmie.

You didn't think you'd see me again so soon, did you?

You see my rank?

Sure.

Fall back, then!

Himmelstoss, we certainly are glad to see you.

What did you say?

- I was going to say... - Never mind!

What's the matter with you, Himmelstoss?

When you address your superior officer, say "sir."

Where'd he get such a nice uniform?

Will there be any mail for us, Himmie?

Quiet!

My dear fellow, you're shouting.

Come on, Himmelstoss. We know you.

Take off the false whiskers.

I believe you mean it.

You'll find out that I mean it.

But only three days ago you were our postman.

Silence!

Come back here!

Line up!

Line up! Get in some kind of a line! Don't even think about it.

All of you! Line up, I say!

Hmm.

What a pretty sight that is.

Have you never heard of standing in line?

You make a fine mess of it.

Well, I'll have to teach you.

We'll spend the whole day on it, huh?

You may be stupid, but I'm used to that.

And then there'll be plenty of other things, too.

Oh, I'll not neglect you.

Hmm.

You're not much to begin with, but I'll do my best.

I see that we have come here with a slight misunderstanding,

and we'll correct that, too, won't we, huh?

And the first thing to do is to forget everything you ever knew.

Everything you ever learned, forget! See?

Forget what you've been and what you think you're going to be.

You're going to be soldiers, and that's all!

I'll take the mother's milk out of you. I'll make you hard-boiled.

I'll make soldiers out of you or kill you!

Now, salute!

Attention!

Detachment, lie down!

Down!

Head down!

Keep your head down, Bäumer!

Detachment, get up!

Advance!

Now, sing!

Do you call that singing?

Detachment, halt!

So, we have no spirit, huh?

We are in no mood for recreation.

Work is what we want. Good!

Then we'll go back to work.

Detachment, lie down!

Keep your head down.

Now, sing!

Men, halt!

Order, arms!

Inspection at 3:00. Dismissed!

Oh, that swine! That means we get no time off.

It will take four hours to get ready for inspection.

I'd like to know what's in his mind.

He hasn't got any!

I'm gonna cut him open sometime and find out.

He's too thick-skinned. He won't cut.