All quiet on the western front (1979) movie questions these questions follow the sequence of action: why did the students join the army? war fever, propaganda. their professor told them to. what role did the mailman (himmelstoss) have? was he particularly mean to these recruits? give an example. how were conditions at the western front different from their expectations in training camp? (note: visual, audio, special effects used to create mood) what was the impact of the shelling on the new recruits?