Remarque challenges the social, cultural, and political notions of war in the way the main characters react to their plight. It is assumed that a nation will rally around its troops, and that the troops themselves will see war as having a great level of value. Since the main characters do not see war that way, they feel cut off from the social and cultural aspects of "going to war." They also don't understand the political ramifications, or why any country would want to invade another. It doesn't make sense to them. Remarque indicates that this may be much more prevalent than one would think, with many soldiers feeling this way. You can find more here: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/allquiet/themes.html or here: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1758&context=clcweb
