Although All Quiet on the Western Front was first published almost a century ago, it remains one of the best-selling books in German history. Written by Erich Maria Remarque, it tells the story of a young German soldier and patriot Paul Baumer fighting on the Western Front during World War I.
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The book has sold over 50 million copies since its publication in 1929, has been translated into over 20 languages, and was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. It is one of the most well-known anti-war books.
All Quiet on the Western Front was first adapted to film in 1930 by Moldovan-American film director Lewis Milestone and won the Academy Awards for both Outstanding Production and Best Director. In 1979, another film adaptation was made in English starring actors Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine.
Most recently, Spanish-German actor and filmmaker Daniel Brühl ("Inglorious Basterds," "Captain America: Civil War") produced the first-ever original-language film adaptation of the book, which hit number one on Netflix shortly after release.
The story begins with the protagonist, 17-year-old Paul – portrayed by Austrian actor Felix Kammerer – forging his parents' signature to be allowed to volunteer in the army. But the feelings of patriotism and even innocence that prompted him and his friends to join the war quickly turn into despair at the horrific sights of the fighting. Another soldier Paul joins in the trenches is Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky portrayed by German actor Albrecht Schuch.
Speaking with Israel Hayom at the Zurich Film Festival, where the film's European premiere was held, Brühl said, "As any German child, I read the book growing up. I re-read it later in life again, and on both occasions, I was deeply impressed by the writing and the way Remarque describes the experiences of the soldiers on the front. It all feels very real. I thought it would be very interesting to do a version in German. In fact, I didn't understand how it hadn't been done yet in almost 100 years" since the publication of the book.
Director Edward Berger added, "It felt like it was the right time. When we started working on the film, two and a half years ago, the materials seemed very relevant. [Donald] Trump's presidency, Brexit, the rise of the far right in France and Hungary, the far right is also getting stronger in Germany. The tone all over the world is becoming more aggressive and more nationalistic. Of course, when we shot the film we didn't know that the war would break out in Ukraine, but now you see a lot of images [of fighting in Ukraine] on television that look like they were taken directly from our film. Like the Russian soldiers who are sent straight to the front without receiving any training for this, for example. Unfortunately, these issues are always relevant."
All Quiet on the Western Front, which is based on Remarque's own experience in the war and those of other soldiers, has an extensive history. It was first published in 1929 – only a decade after the end of WWI as the Nazi party was gaining power in Germany – and immediately became a sensation. As an example: within a year, it was translated into both Hebrew and Yiddish.
The book's anti-war and pacifist message did not sit well with the Nazis, who accused Remarque of a lack of patriotism and detested the way he portrayed German defeat in the war at the hands of the English and French. They set out to ruin his reputation by spreading rumors that Remarque was Jewish and had never served in the military.
A year later, in December 1930, the Hollywood adaptation of the book, which as mentioned above was directed by Milestone, was screened for the first time in the magnificent Mozartsaal hall in Berlin. According to local media reports, the audience, which included intellectuals and celebrities, was deeply shocked by the scenes. They did not clap nor speak after the film ended.
The Nazis, who quickly realized the danger the movie posed to national morale and honor, made sure to sabotage any future screenings. Just a few days later, dozens of them – under the leadership of Josef Goebbels – interrupted movie screenings by throwing stink bombs, releasing mice, shouting anti-Jewish slurs, and even beating audience members.
Goebbels would later write in his diary that "within ten minutes the movie theater turned into a madhouse" and that "the police were powerless."
In Vienna too the Nazis tried to block the screening of the film and riots broke out throughout the city after over a thousand police officers surrounded the cinema in an attempt to prevent the Nazis' entry.
The film was soon banned altogether and was not screened in Germany until over 20 years later. The book was heavily censored as well, and when the Nazis began to burn literature, All Quiet on the Western Front was among them, as was its sequel, The Road Back (1930).
Fearing for his life, Remarque fled to Switzerland, and later to the United States in early 1933, shortly after Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany.
Brühl said, "The Nazis didn't appear out of nowhere. It is fascinating to follow the chain of events and try to see where the process originated. And in this case, it all started here, at the end of WWI. [Austrian film director] Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon presents this in a very smart and accurate way. Remarque was asked in an interview, when he was older already, whether there was any reason to write the book at all, given what happened in Germany in the years to follow, whether it broke his spirit and made him think that the book had no effect, and he said no. He said we cannot stop talking about these issues. That this story transcends time. That it is eternal. That we must continue to tell this story."
Berger added, "Remarque wrote the book over 90 years ago. He didn't have the perspective and the history books that we have. It was important for us to show that this was only the beginning. That another war, much worse, was already on the way. It was important for us to show the futility of the war. That the lesson wasn't learned and twenty years later it happened again."
To provide the necessary historical context, Berger and his team decided to add an additional storyline about an earlier event – the armistice negotiations between Germany and France, which were held on a train carriage in the heart of France's Forest of Compiègne. Brühl plays Matthias Erzberger, a German politician and authorized representative of the Reich government who signed the armistice.
Berger explained, "The generals didn't want to sign an agreement to end the war, which is why they sent a politician so that later they could blame him and other politicians for the defeat. They claimed that had they not been held back by the politicians, they would have won. This is how the Dolchstoßlegende, or stab-in-the-back, myth came to be," which was an anti-semitic conspiracy that was widely believed and promulgated in Germany, claiming that the Imperial German Army did not lose WWI on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by certain citizens on the home front – especially Jews. "Hitler based his entire campaign on this feeling of betrayal. And that is how he justified his attacks."
Brühl added, "We didn't know if the back-and-forth between the negotiation scenes and the war scenes would work. We wondered whether we should just stay with the storyline of the soldiers, but I think it's very effective to see the enormous difference between the chaos of the battlefield and the polite manners of the conversations on the train. It's an iconic moment in history.
"Erzberger, whom I portray, was a conservative politician from southern Germany who had made his way to Berlin. He quickly became a target, because he was very critical of German policy. He knew that he might be targeted, but did not hesitate. He was assassinated a few years later as retaliation for the signing of the armistice.
"They claimed his cowardice led to Germany losing the war, which became the cornerstone of the Nazi propaganda. So much so that when Hitler invaded France, he asked for the same train car in which the armistice had been signed. He wanted the French to sign their surrender in the same place."
There is no shortage of movies about WWI. Stanley Kubrick's war picture Paths of Glory (1957) is considered one of the greatest of the genre to this day. A decade ago Steven Spielberg released War Horse and in 2019, Sam Mendes' one-shot masterpiece 1917 hit the theaters. And yet, movies portraying the way from Germany's perspective are few and far between.
"For some reason, it's not something we've touched upon yet," Berger said.
According to Brühl, the main difference between films presented from the perspective of the winning side as opposed to the defeated is that the losing side cannot afford to present itself in a heroic manner.
"An American or English war film can tell stories of heroism," he said. "Since they liberated Europe and defeated the fascists, they are allowed to do so, so to speak, and there really is no shortage of masterpieces in this genre. But we are Germans, and in everything related to WWI, we have no moments of celebration or glorification. There are no heroic elements in our films. What is on the screen is the essence of Remarque's book. Even those who survived their lives were destroyed. There are no winners in war."
Berger said, "We didn't inherit anything to be proud of. Only guilt and horror stories. What did the German heritage leave in the world? What did the German heritage leave us with? Two terrible wars. These feelings undoubtedly fuel the film and make it different from an ordinary war movie."
Q: Was there any fear about adapting such a canonical and loaded text? Did you feel a special responsibility?
Brühl: I'm not sure if there was any fear, but there was definitely a positive tension. We all felt that we were telling an important story, and we all felt responsible and wanted to do the best we could. Despite the challenging shooting days, the young actors never complained, because they felt that they were part of something special. It's nice that it happens sometimes.
Q: What guided you in terms of the depiction of the horrors of the war?
Berger: The goal was to make our viewers see the events from the perspective of the main character, Paul, and make them feel what he felt. In terms of the violence, it had to be horrific, because otherwise, it would be inaccurate. We wanted it to be as unbearable as possible, without it being impossible to watch. For if you clean it up, it becomes glorification and propaganda.
Q: Were you inspired by other war films?
"I think that over the years I've seen them all," Berger continued. "But specifically before working on this film I mostly watched movies that give a subjective experience. [Hungarian film director] László Nemes's Son of Saul, for example [which tells the story of a Jewish worker at the Auschwitz concentration].
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"It is an extreme depiction that really forces the viewer to go through the journey in the character's shoes. Our film is different, naturally, but I took a lot from Son of Saul. I wanted to create a similar experience through other means. Another movie that has always influenced me is Apocalypse Now, a pretty horrifying movie in my opinion. It has less story and more atmosphere. The chaos of war."
As for Brühl, it is not his first time acting in a war film, for as mentioned above, he starred in "Inglourious Basterds," a 2009 film by Quentin Tarantino, which offers a wildly reimagined narrative of World War II.
"Ours was, of course, a completely different approach," Brühl said. "Quentin's film is brilliant. The way he reimagined history is genius in my opinion, and I am very proud to be a part of this film. But here our goal is different.
"I hope that as many young people as possible will watch the film, and I hope that some of them will also want to read the book. Then we will know that our goal has been achieved."
