The horrible conditions the soldiers must endure are an atrocity of World War I. Paul describes the conditions in his mind, “The front is a cage in which we must await fearfully whatever may happen” (Remarque 101). Paul expresses his distaste for the conditions that his company must endure in the trenches. This is an atrocity of war because the German government does not supply adequate conditions for the soldiers to live and fight in. Paul describes his comrade's death, “He lived for half an hour, quite conscious, and in terrible pain” (Remarque 279). This description shows that even death cannot be peaceful during war. Clearly, war is quite atrocious.

The war hospitals that the soldiers must go to do not provide the good care that is expected of hospitals, which is very atrocious. Paul describes the surgeons' procedures as he arrives at the hospital, “…for everyone knows that the surgeons in the dressing stations amputate on the slightest provocation. Under the great business that is much simpler than complicated patching” (Remarque 242). This observation shows that the surgeons do not have enough time or resources to be fixing every injury, so instead they just amputate anything if it would be too much trouble to fix it. This is an atrocity because the soldiers fighting for their country should be getting the best healthcare money can buy, but are actually getting the worst care. Paul then describes the working conditions the sisters must endure, “They [the sisters] certainly have a great deal to do and are all overworked day after day” (Remarque 255). After this observation, one can infer that the care in the hospital is so dreadful because they do not have enough people staffed and the staff they do have are all overworked. The hospital care is an atrocity of war because of the lack of care and experiments.

The Russian POWs are treated very poorly, which can be seen as an atrocity of war. Paul describes what he sees the Russians have to do for food, “[The Russians] slink about our camp and pick over the garbage tins” (Remarque 189). The Russian POWs are reduced to having to dig through the German's leftover garbage for food. This is an atrocity because even though they are prisoners, the Russians are still people and should be fed at the very least. Paul goes on to describe the POWS clothing, “Now [the Russians] wear only the most pitiful clothing, and try to exchange little carving and objects that they have made” (Remarque 191). This description shows how the POWs do not have anything and Paul pities them. This is an atrocity of war because the Russian POWs cannot even keep their clothes, let alone their dignity. The treatment of the Russian POWs is clearly an atrocity of war.

The atrocities of war are clearly portrayed by Remarque throughout this novel using imagery. This is shown through the horrid trench conditions, the bad care at the war hospitals, and the poor treatment of the Russian POWs. War can produce many atrocities if not planned for very carefully.