In the book All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Remarque gives a good solid description about true horrors of war and the false portrayal of nationalism and patriotism in the life of a 20 year old German Paul Baumer. He does this without romanticizing so that one can get a clear understanding of what thousands of young soldiers had to go through fighting in the trenches in WWI and what they had to deal with emotionally. Kemmerich is a very important character whose injury and death play a very important role in the emotional life of Paul; his life portrays the many other Kemmrich’s that died throughout the war.

Before the war, Kemmerich and Paul knew each other like brothers. They attended the same school, had the same classes, and liked the same girls. They were the best of friends and hardly separable. But then came along the war that they did not start and they did not want any part of. They and many of their other friends were pressured in by their teachers and parents by the bold ideas of nationalism, patriotism, and the possibility of becoming a martyr and being remembered in history. But unlike theses silly bold ideas that they were taught of in school, they learned that war was scary, dangerous, and destructive. They learned that the only way to truly live and survive was to push your emotions and hold them down until they were gone. Kemmerich in the end would pay the ultimate price because of his inability to do so.

When Kemmerich was first hurt, Paul and some of his comrades visited him. He could barely stand to look at Kemmerich, Paul even says “Kemmerich was a ghastly yellow and wan” he even remarks how he doesn’t expect /Kemmerich to live through the next day. This affects Paul a lot but he does his best not to show it and he pushes his emotions down. When Muller asks for Kemmerich’s prized boots (which were taken from a French pilot) he is turned down, but the next day before Kemmerich dies during Paul’s last visit with him, he allows Paul too give the boots to Muller. This hurt Paul because Kemerich had given up hope and the realization of death hits him and Paul copes with this and holds in. Later on when Muller dies Paul is given the boots, he then is reminded of Kemmerich’s sacrifice to Muller and then Muller’s sacrifice to him.

Throughout Paul’s time in the warzone he tires as hard as he can to push away emotions, to push away the boots, and eventually push away his friends. But Kemmerich stays in his mind throughout the book and this is seen when he empty his emotions to the body of the man whom he killed in the shell crater. Paul’s survival and the survival of many troops depended on their ability to bottle up their emotions. With out emotions soldiers reacted faster with instincts of survival but with emotions ones judgment was clouded and they were slowed down. So the only way for a soldier to live and survive was by pushing and bottling up their emotions.