All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Bäumer, a 19-year-old German soldier, was born in 1904. At school, his teacher Kantorek used to say to him, "You are an iron youth! Legends will be written about you! You are an iron sword that will be drawn from its sheath and returned to it in pieces! I am sure almost all of you will return home alive and with a beautiful Iron Cross!" Paul's friends include Albert Kropp (Albert, 19), Müller the Fifth (Müller, 19), Leer, Franz Kemmerich (Franz, 19), Stanislav Katczinsky (Kat, 40), and Tjaden (19). Paul is a thin boy of average height, with blond hair and gray-blue eyes. He is kind and a little naive.

Albert Kropp is Paul's classmate, serving in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: "Shorty Albert Kropp is the brightest mind in our company." He has a soft spot for women, a square face, a slender build, wheat-colored hair, brown eyes, and a full beard.

Müller the Fifth is Paul's classmate, serving in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: "...still lugging around textbooks and dreaming of passing exams with preferential treatment; under heavy fire, he crams the laws of physics." He has blond hair, blue eyes, glasses, and a slender build.

Franz-That's the handsome guy (or rather, almost no one thinks so except himself) who carries a comb everywhere and can stand in front of a mirror for nearly an hour. At the front, in the trenches, the first thing he didn't like was how dirty it was. He has blond hair (lighter than Paul's) and blue eyes, though he's a bit on the chubby side.

Stanislav Kaczynski (accent on the "A"; nickname: Kat, Kach) is a 40th-ranking soldier and veteran, having fought on the Western Front since 1914. He knows everything here, has an instinct for various dangers and usefulness. He's harsh with many, but kind to the guys (Tjaden, Paul, Kropp, Franz, and Müller). Paul says, "You can throw Kat into the desert, without food or water, and in an hour he'll set the stage for a clearing with red wine, old beans, and a five-star steak." Kat has short, plaited hair, blue eyes, and a mustache. He's of solid build, not thin, but not overweight either.

Tjaden is one of Bäumer's friends from school, serving in the same company. At the beginning of the novel, Paul describes him as follows: "a mechanic, a frail youth of our own age, the most gluttonous soldier in the company—he sits down to eat thin and slender, and after eating, he gets up potbellied like a bedbug." He has a urinary tract disorder, which sometimes causes him to wet himself in his sleep.

Unteroffizier Himmelstoss was the squad leader in which Bäumer and his friends received military training. Paul describes him as follows: "He was known as the most ferocious tyrant in our barracks, and he was proud of it. A small, stocky man with twelve years of service, a bright red mustache curled upwards, a former postman." He was especially cruel to Kropp, Tjaden, Bäumer, and Westhus. He was later sent to the front to join Paul's company, where he tried to make amends. He helped carry Haie Westhus when his back was torn apart, and later filled in for the cook when he went on leave.