All Quiet on the Western Front
When the german schoolmaster was trying to motivate his students to enlist in the army, did he say anything that would be different
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Kantorek represents nationalism, the ideology of unswerving dedication to one's own country that swept Europe before and during WWI, at its worst. His patriotic sentiments and bullying forced Paul and his classmates--what he proudly calls the "'Iron Youth'"--into volunteering for the war. Kantorek is no different than many "leaders" of that era under the delusion of war as a heroic prospect.