Young Paul and his classmates enter the war with youthful enthusiasm and patriotic fire, seduced by their teachers' empty phrases and supposed hero worship. The reality of war quickly catches up with them: brutal violence, omnipresent death, and senseless slaughter destroy their illusions and transform the young men into physically and emotionally scarred beings.

Remarque powerfully shows how war corrodes humanity. Soldiers become numbers, cogs in the war machine, stripped of their individuality and dignity. The trench becomes a symbol of isolation, fear, and loss of humanity, where death becomes a daily companion.

The novel is a powerful appeal against war and its meaninglessness. Remarque emphasizes the futility of killing and dying for abstract concepts like fatherland or honor. War is portrayed as a brutal, chaotic, and senseless endeavor that leaves only suffering and destruction in its wake.