Primary Sources from the Interwar Neutrality Debate

Context: By the late 1920s, public disillusionment with World War I had become widespread. Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 German novel All Quiet on the Western Front captured this sentiment, depicting the brutality and futility of trench warfare through the eyes of young German soldiers. The novel’s 1930 American film adaptation became a cultural phenomenon, reinforcing antiwar attitudes that would shape U.S. debates over neutrality throughout the decade. In the final scene shown below, the protagonist, Paul, reaches out toward a butterfly from the trenches before being shot by a sniper.

More information about All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) can be found at the American Film Institute.