Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Erich Maria Remarque

Quote by Erich Maria Remarque

Work

All quiet on the western front

Erich Maria Remarque's novel offers a stark portrayal of the horrors of war from the perspective of young soldiers on the Western Front during World War I. more

Author

Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque

German author best known for his novel 'All Quiet on the Western Front', which vividly portrays the horrors of World War I. His works are characterized by a realistic style and have had a profound impact on literature. more

You May Also Like

“It never failed to amaze me, even after all these centuries, that the elements cared not for human pain. That the sky and the stars paid no heed to the obliterated corpses below. That the birds still sang each morning, no matter how many men had fallen the night before. Sometimes that sense of insignificance was a comfort. But here, languishing in a rotten maze carved into the ruined earth, I felt nothing but despair. How simple and beautiful life could have been. How far that humanity had strayed.”

LifeWar
Book:Our Infinite Fates
Create image

“My parents did their best to instill a sense of normalcy into our lives even though a war and ethnic cleansing were raging all around us. The battle between Iran and Iraq was fought WWII Stalingrad-style with trenches, tanks, and continuous artillery fire. The sound of whistles marked the moment soldiers were ordered to move into minefields and face the barrage of machine guns. More than a million people died on both sides. And here is the kicker: no land or resources were gained by either country.”

WarMemoirNonfiction
Book:Life in Rotations: From Persecuted Iranian to Proud Canadian
Create image

“As I got to know the Afghan soldiers better, they began to open up and share stories about the injustices they had suffered at the hands of the Iranians. Often, Afghans would sneak into Iran and work under the table so they could support their families. When they had saved enough, they would take their earnings and try to sneak back into Afghanistan. The Iranian border guards however, knew what was going on and would often stop them and rob them of their earnings. Our mutual dislike of Iranians was something that united us.”

WarMemoirNonfiction
Book:Life in Rotations: From Persecuted Iranian to Proud Canadian
Create image

“The psychology behind the decision to stay or to go is complicated and doesn’t depend on the intensity of immediate danger. Some people are too old, too sick, or too fatalistic to move, even as shells fall nearby and as their windows are blown out. Others, like Denys, have family they don’t want to abandon. Some are just too attached to the comforts of their apartments, to their household possessions, and can’t imagine going to a remote, unfamiliar city—even if doing so would likely save their and their children’s lives. This lack of imagination, or outright self-delusion, rattled me at times. But such an inclination to minimize danger, and to believe oneself to be somehow protected, is natural.”

War
Book:Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence
Create image