World War I was a conflict fueled by territorial desires and nationalism. This same sentiment is captured in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque. In the novel the main characters, all young soldiers, come to understand that war is not glorious and that the people they fight are not their enemies. At the time, such ideas were dangerously anti-nationalist. Nationalism was a necessary component of the First World War but was not, as explored in Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, a doctrine shared by all Europeans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay It is not difficult to see the mark left by nationalism on the First World War. The popular definition of nationalism is that it is a doctrine that "holds that all people derive their identity from their nations, which are defined by a common language, shared cultural traditions, and sometimes religion" (Hunt et al 814) . Considering that at the start of World War I many countries had a variety of different cultural traditions, religions and, in some cases, languages, it is conceivable that they would have faced considerable unrest within their borders. One country that faced the problem of multiple ethnicities was Austria-Hungary. These struggles culminated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. At the time the Archduke was "a thorn in the side of many politicians because he did not want to favor Hungarian interests over the ethnic interests of his kingdom" (Hunt et al 997). Strangely, it was not for this reason that he was killed. His killer, the nationalist Gavrilo Princip, "[dreamed] of reuniting his homeland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Serbia" (997). The objective of creating a state composed of a single united ethnic group is undoubtedly of nationalist origin. In fact, it comes directly from the popular definition. After the assassination, Austria-Hungary, with the support of Germany, declared war on Serbia. One reason Germany entered the war was “territorial gains leading towards…Mitteleuropa,” which was a territory in central and eastern Europe that included the Balkan states (Hunt et al 993, 999). Territory expansion can be seen as a nationalistic goal if one takes into account that nationalism includes belief in the supremacy of the nation. If those in power believed that their nation was the most powerful and deserving territory, then that nationalistic spirit justifies the expansion of their country. A flurry of nations then joined the war due to alliances. Russia banded together to protect the Serbs, as did France, another Russian ally (Hunt et al 999). Great Britain entered the war on the side of Russia and France when Germany, in an attempt to attack France, violated Belgian neutrality. You can see nationalism at work in these actions too. A nation can hardly consider itself superior if it does not honor its alliances and does not come to the aid of other countries. Likewise, only a nationalist country can consider itself worthy of other countries' lands; to do this, the people of the offensive nation must believe themselves more worthy than those of the defensive nation. During the war, to keep the nationalist spirit alive, it was necessary to resort to propaganda. In many cases, this was done by vilifying enemy countries. In one case, "British propagandists fabricated the atrocities that the German 'Huns' would commit against the Belgians" and, in another, "German propaganda warned that French-African troops would rape theGerman women if Germany had been defeated" (Hunt et al 1012). Even more severe measures were taken by governments, who "passed sedition laws that made it a crime to criticize official policies" (Hunt et al 1012). All these things they served to mobilize citizens in support of the war. The nationalist mentality was common among civilians, and was strengthened by propaganda and the government. It cannot be said, however, that all of Europe was gripped by the nationalist spirit Erich Remarque's Western Front is a testament to this. In the novel, although the young men fighting the battles are initially gripped by nationalist fervor, they are ultimately able to transcend the one-sided belief that they belong to a singularly superior nation when they experience war firsthand. person. This is not to say that the fighting men and women were not influenced by nationalism; The civilian characters in All Quiet on the Western Front seem almost exclusively driven by it and can only interact with the soldiers through a nationalistic paradigm. Early in the novel, it is revealed that the narrator joined the army at the urging of his teacher, Kantorek. Wildly nationalistic, Kantorek gave "long lectures until [his] entire class went, under his leadership, to the district commander and volunteered" (Remarque 11). In fact, this mentality was so widespread that "at that time, even parents were ready to call 'coward'" if they did not join the army (11). It is noteworthy that those who recommended the army were often not the ones ready to join. It's easy to be nationalistic and push younger generations to fight a war when they aren't expected to do the same. A similar episode occurs when the main character, Paul, returns to his hometown for a few days. A group of older men invite him to smoke and drink with them. One of them observes that “of course it is worse here,” referring to the lack of food in the area in contrast to the imagined generosity enjoyed by the soldiers (Remarque 166). The rest of the men have a nationalist mood and talk about the territories they deserve to conquer during the war. One of them, a headmaster, "wants to have all of Belgium, the coal areas of France and a slice of Russia" (166). This attitude of civilians, that their country was the most correct and deserving in the war, made it necessary for them to reject the non-nationalistic views of the returning soldiers. Also linked to nationalism is the romanticization of war, which is shown by Haie when he expresses his desire to stay in the army after the war. He explains that:...you have nothing to worry about...they find food for you every day, otherwise you'll get into a fight; you have a bed, clean linen every week like a perfect gentleman, you do your duty as a non-commissioned officer, you have a good suit; in the evening you are a free man and go to the pub. (Remarque 79) Haie, like other characters who favor the military, is only able to believe in a good life after the war because of the degree to which military life has been romanticized. His friends have to remind him that such a position does not exist (79). The idea of ​​the glory of war is shared by many civilians because they have not experienced the degradation of combat. They strongly believe in their leaders and propaganda; they must believe that their army is infinitely superior to that of other countries. If they were made aware of the harsh reality, it would be difficult for them to sustain their nationalism and unwavering patriotism. The most obvious thing in All Quiet on the Western Front is the loss of nationalism seen in the troops. At first, the informal leader of the,.