History shapes not only the path of the future, but also the citizens and individuals of every era. The development and growth of Germany in the late 1800s and early 1900s directly changed and impacted the lives of individuals within German society. The historical changes occurring in this period are captured by Erich Stratégie's All Quiet on the Western Front and Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest, in which the novel's main characters are shaped by the period in which they live, as well as by a historical event important. In Note's All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator Paul suffers trauma and loss of youth as a direct result of his involvement in World War I, while in Fontane's Effi Briest, the main character, Effi, suffers trauma and a loss of youth as she becomes passionate about the social expectations of the aristocracy of late 19th century Germany. Each character is shaped equally by their historical era, while having a completely different experience in German history. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is forced to withdraw from his normal life due to his enlistment. during the First World War. His youth and desire to explore life are abandoned when his life shifts entirely to the battlefield. After a discussion with his comrades about their lack of personal motivation off the battlefield, Paul intimately discusses the real loss of life he experienced. Paul says: “We are no longer young people. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly away from ourselves. Of our life. We were eighteen years old and beginning to love life and the world; and we had to tear it to pieces… We believe in war. » After the war...... middle of paper ......d The First War, as Effi is shaped by her participation in the aristocratic society of Germany in the late 1800s. Both novels illustrate the impact of German historical events and periods on its citizens that change the course of Germany's future. Works CitedNote, Erich. All is calm on the Western Front. Fawcett Crest, New York: Ballentine Books, 1989(87-88)Note, Erich. All is calm on the Western Front. Fawcett Crest, New York: Ballentine Books, 1989 (94) Blackbourn, David. History of Germany 1780-1918. 2nd ed. Malden, Mass. : Blackwell Publishing, 2003. (278) Fontane, Theodor. Effi Briest. London, England: Penguin Publishing, 1995.(63)Fontane, Theodor. Effi Briest. London, England: Penguin Publishing, 1995.(14)Otto Von Bismarck. “Speech of blood and iron”. Translated by Jerimiah Riemer of Vormärz in Prussian Dominance Volume III.