Kropp on the other hand is a thinker. He proposes that a declaration of war should be a kind of popular festival with entrance-tickets and bands, like a bull fight. Then in the arena the ministers and generals of the two countries, dressed in bathing-drawers and armed with clubs, can have it out on themselves. Whoever survives the country wins. That would be much simpler and more than just this arrangement, where the wrong people do the fighting . Erich Maria Remarque
About This Quote

The quote that begins with “Kropp on the other hand is a thinker” refers to the character Kropp in Henrik Ibsen’s play, “Peer Gynt,” who is one of the main characters. He is an old man who has lived an unusual life. He was born on a farm in Norway and has been involved in many adventures during his time there. He has had many jobs throughout his life, including being a postmaster, a cavalry officer, and an actor.

Throughout all of these careers, he has always believed that war was bad for both sides. This belief is what leads him to propose that the leaders of countries declare war on each other as part of a festival.

Source: All Quiet On The Western Front

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More Quotes By Erich Maria Remarque
  1. A crude age. Peace is stabilized with cannon and bombers, humanity with concentration camps and pogroms. We're living in a time when all standards are turned upside-down, Kern. Today the aggressor is the shepherd of peace, and the beaten and hunted are the troublemakers of...
  2. Today the aggressor is the shepherd of peace, and the beaten and hunted are the troublemakers of the world. What's more, there are whole races who believe it!
  3. Kropp on the other hand is a thinker. He proposes that a declaration of war should be a kind of popular festival with entrance-tickets and bands, like a bull fight. Then in the arena the ministers and generals of the two countries, dressed in bathing-drawers...
  4. For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress -- to the future.
  5. The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom.
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