Reading “All Quiet On The Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque and the various perspectives from the “WW1 Prose Reading” gained me much insight on a subject I was rather ignorant about. Prior to this unit, I understood the general goings on in wars and I stood for anti war philosophy with basic understanding of why.
However, during this unit I got clear, insanely detailed, personal writings depicting and retelling the events that happened during the war. Reading the writings broke stereotypes for me and overall changed the way I perceive war forever. I found myself with questions relating to war that enveloped me and an urge to find out in order to settle these questions. My anti-war philosophy gained even more reason for existence and has become an impenetrable wall of thought.
I gained much sympathy for soldiers, especially those who were shunned away from society due to the shell shock they experienced. I gained respect for soldiers who got through daily life after the war despite being plagued with trauma. But simultaneously, I lost the slight amount of respect I initially held for soldiers after hearing the treacherous acts they committed while acting in the war. Although it was reassuring hearing that the soldiers were not all without empathy for the people they killed.
This unit was eye opening and the resources provided vast knowledge on the events that occurred during war.