Chapter 6:

CH 7 while returning to front Paul and friends see coffins made for them enemy brining new weapons, Paul's side shells are falling into trenches because barrels are worn out Paul talks about chance, Paul relates that he once left a dugout to visit friends in a different dugout. When he returned to the first, it had been completely demolished by a direct hit. He returned to the second only to discover that it had been buried. men fight rats for food cheese and wine given out to men to make them feel better before they die possibly men removes saw blades from bayonet b/c blades get stuck when stabbing leaves time for enemy to attack no possible way of getting food, not even kat can get it recruit is claustrophobic, tries to leave, Kat/Paul beat him up so he won't go out and die another recruit has to be tied up, tied up in a way he can leave if anything happens everybody tries to get mind off the bombing but can't attack from the French come, Germans attack back and take better food from French Germans rest, while standing guard Paul has memories that bring sorrow rather than desire, Paul is sure his generation is lost now and they're numb to the world Paul and his comrades hear wounded man for 3 days, try to search for him but couldn't new recruits are dying b/c lack of training Paul finds Himm. in dugout pretending to be injured, tries to get Himm. to move, lieutenant gets them to move old soldiers try to teach new recruits how to survive but when fighting starts they know do everything wrong Haie receives fatal wound in his back When Second Company is relieved only 32 left

Himm. tries to make amends w/ Paul/friends cause he finally exp. the front gives more food and gives them easy jobs Paul and friends make jokes to stay sane but over time they get more bitter One time Paul and Kropp see a movie poster with a women and a sailor, they feel bad they don't compare to the handsome sailor Paul, Leer, Kropp go swimming see French girls, they try to get some by saying they got food the girls tell them to come over but Paul and friends can't cross canal because of guards watching Later they get Tjaden wasted and then swim over naked with food in boots, they get some and then leave back home, they see Tjaden running Paul receives seventeen days of leave. Afterward, he has to report to a training base, and will return to the front in six weeks. He wonders how many of his friends will survive six weeks. He visits one of the women on the other side of the canal, but she is not interested to hear about his leave. He realizes that she would find him more exciting if he were going to the front. Paul comes home and finds his mom has cancer, he feels strange at home His mother asks how bad was the front Paul lies so she doesn't worry Paul walks in the street with his army clothes and a major gets mad because Paul doesn't salute him correctly, makes Paul march and salute better; Paul decides to wear civilian clothes so he doesn't have to that Paul's father keeps asking about the war but Paul doesn't want to talk about it screeching tram makes Paul scared bc similar to shells Paul's dad takes him to beer garden to talk with friends of his dad, the friends think they know everything about the front which pisses Paull off so he stops talking

 CH8

Paul sits in his room w/ books and pictures trying remember his youth but nothing, he only knows being a solider Mittlestaedt, Paul's fellow classmate, is now Kantorek's training officer b/c Kantorek got drafted Mitt. tells Kantorke that he persauded Joseph Behm and it was his fault he died earlier than he should Mitt. arranged it so that he was in charge of kantorek so he could humiliate him at every chance mimicking what Kantorek used to tell the young boys Paul's mom gets sad b/c paul's leave is ending soon Paul goes to see Kemm.'s mother She demands to know how he died but he lies to her, she thought he was lying to her at 1st but then she ended up beliving the lie that Kemm died quick with little pain Paul's mother sits with him while he's sleeping he tells her to go back to bed, he wishes he could cry and die with her he wishes he never went home because it caused a lot of pain for his mother and him

Paul reports to the training camp. Next to the camp is a prison for captured Russian soldiers, who are reduced to picking through the German soldiers garbage for food. Paul can hardly understand how they find anything in the garbage: food is so scarce that everything is eaten Paul wonders how the Russians are his enemy b/c they looks so innocent The Russians voices bring images of warm cozy homes to pauls mind some ppl ignore begging russians some even kick them the brotherhood of russian prisoners touch paul deeply Paul can't relate to them b/c he doesn't know them Paul thinks soldiers are killing each other b/c they're fight over other men's problems One of the russian prisoners learn paul plays the piano and plays his violin which makes Paul sad before paul leaves to front, sister and father come to visit , they have nothing to talk about except mother's cancer Paul's mother goes to hospital, Paul's dad doesn't ask for price b/c he knows doctor wont perform surgery if he asks Before they leave, Pauls father and sister give Paul some jam and potato cakes that his mother made for him. Depressed, Paul has no appetite for them, and ponders whether to give them to the hungry Russian prisoners. He decides that he will, but then he remembers that his mother must have been in pain when she made the cakes and that she meant them for him. He compromises by giving the prisoners two of the cakes.