World War I was a conflict fueled by territorial desires and nationalism. This feeling is expressed in Erich Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front. In the novel, the main characters, all young soldiers, understand that war is not glorious and that the people they fight are not their enemies. At the time, these ideas were dangerously anti-nationalist. Nationalism was a necessary component of the First World War but was not, as Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front shows, a doctrine shared by all Europeans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay It is not difficult to see the mark that nationalism left on the First World War. The popular definition of nationalism is that it is a doctrine that "maintains that all people derive their identity from their nations, which are defined by a common language, shared cultural traditions, and sometimes religion" (Hunt and al 814). Given that at the start of World War I many countries had different cultural traditions, religions and, in some cases, languages, it is conceivable that they faced considerable upheaval at the time. Within their borders, Austria-Hungary is a country faced with the problem of the multiplicity of ethnic groups. These struggles culminated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. was “a thorn in the side of many politicians because he did not want to favor Hungarian interests over those of other ethnic groups in his kingdom” (Hunt et al 997). he was killed. His assassin, the nationalist Gavrilo Princip, “[dreamed] of reuniting his homeland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Serbia” (997). The goal of creating a state composed of a single, united ethnicity is undoubtedly nationalist in origin. In fact, it follows directly from the popular definition. After the assassination, Austria-Hungary, with German support, declared war on Serbia. One of Germany's motivations for joining the war was "territorial gains leading to...Mitteleuropa", which was a territory in Central and Eastern Europe including the Balkan states (Hunt et al 993, 999). Territorial expansion can be considered a nationalist goal if we consider that nationalism includes the belief in the supremacy of the nation. If those in power believed that their nation was the most powerful and deserving territory, then this nationalist spirit justifies the expansion of their country. A multitude of nations then joined the war due to alliances. Russia joined to protect the Serbs, as did France, another Russian ally (Hunt et al. 999). Britain entered the war on the side of Russia and France when Germany, en route to attack France, violated Belgian neutrality. It is also possible to see nationalism at work in these actions. 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 deserving 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 has been done by defaming enemy countries. In one case, “British propagandists fabricated theatrocities the German “Huns” allegedly committed against the Belgians” and, in another, “German propaganda warned that French African troops would rape German women if Germany was defeated” (Hunt et al 1012). Even stricter measures were taken by governments, which “passed sedition laws that made it a crime to criticize official policies” (Hunt et al 1012). All of these things served to rally citizens in support of the war. The nationalist mentality was common among civilians and was reinforced by propaganda and the government. However, we cannot say that the whole of Europe was seduced by the nationalist spirit. The book All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Stratégie bears witness to this. In the novel, although the young men who lead the battles are initially caught up in nationalistic fervor, they are ultimately able to transcend the one-sided belief of belonging to a singularly superior nation when they experience war firsthand. This is not to say that the fighters, men and women, were not affected by nationalism; The civilian characters in All Quiet on the Western Front seem almost solely motivated by it and can only interact with the soldiers through a nationalist paradigm. Early in the novel, it is revealed that the narrator joined the army at the request of his teacher, Kantorek. Extremely nationalist, Kantorek gave “long lectures until the whole of [his] class went, under his direction, to the district commander and volunteered” (Note 11). In fact, this mentality was so prevalent that "at that time, even parents were willing to use the word 'coward'" if they did not join the military (11). It is worth noting here that those who recommended the army were often not those who were prepared to join it. It is easy to be nationalistic and encourage younger generations to fight in a war when they are not 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 remarks that "of course it's worse here", referring to the lack of food in the area as opposed to the imagined generosity enjoyed by the soldiers (Remark 166). The rest of the men are in a nationalistic mood and talk about the territories they deserve to conquer in the war. One of them, a school director, “wants to have all of Belgium, the coalfields of France and part of Russia” (166). This attitude of civilians, that their country was the most just and deserving in the war, forced them to reject the non-nationalist views of returning soldiers. The romanticization of war is also linked to nationalism, as Haie shows when he expresses his wish to remain in the army after the war. He explains that:...you have nothing to fear...your food is found every day, otherwise you make a quarrel; you have a bed, clean underwear every week like a perfect gentleman, you do your non-com. duty, you have good clothes; in the evening, you are a free man and you go to the pub. (Note 79) Haie, like other pro-military characters, 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 must remind him that no such position exists (79). The idea of ​​the glory of war is shared by many civilians because they have not experienced the degradation of combat. They firmly believe in their leaders and in propaganda; they must believe that their army is infinitely superior to the armies of other countries. If they were,.