An American political columnist, Robert Novak, states, "It is hard to write about politicians, see them at such close range, and still think of any of them as heroes." In the novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Remarque shows with the characters Corporal Himmelstoss and Private Paul Baumer, that war makes ordinary people heroes and turns leaders into cowards. The novel starts out with the hero Corporal Himmelstoss leading the troops in training, but when the Corporal goes into a battle he pretends to be hurt and hides in the corner being a coward. At the end of the novel Private Paul Baumer becomes the hero to many of his comrades.

In the beginning, Corporal Himmelstoss leads his soldiers at boot camp and they follow his orders. While in boot camp a private named Paul Baumer said to one of his comrades about Himmelstoss, "I have...