Sergeant Stanislas "Kat" Katczinsky Sometime I'm gonna take one of you volunteers apart — find out what makes you leave school and join the army. Hey, this is no parade ground.
Played by Louis Wolheim 
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) · 32 quotes
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) · 32 quotes
2nd most-quoted character in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930): in 8 of its 32 quotes
Most scenes with: Paul Bäumer (3)
That cannon shell you don't have to pay much attention to. Those big fellas just make a lot of noise and land about five miles behind the line. The things we've got to watch out for are them black ones. They don't give you much warning... Mother Earth — press yourselves down upon her! Bury yourselves deep into her! Just keep your eyes on me. When you see me flop, you flop, only try to beat me to it.
More lines from Sergeant Stanislas "Kat" Katczinsky
3 quotes Sergeant Stanislas "Kat" Katczinsky Sergeant Stanislas "Kat" Katczinsky [to new recruits]
Now you're gonna see some shell fire, and you're gonna be scared... [a shell explodes nearby and they all duck for cover; one terrified recruit soils his pants] Never mind. It's happened to better men than you. And it's happened to me. When we come back, I'll get you all some nice, clean underwear!
Sergeant Stanislas "Kat" Katczinsky There's 80 of us left. The rest is in dressing stations or pushing up daisies.
Scenes with Sergeant Stanislas "Kat" Katczinsky
4 scenes
Soldier
Dead. He's dead.
Katczinsky Why did you risk your life bringing him in?
Soldier
But it's Behm, my friend.
Katczinsky It's a corpse, no matter whose it is. Now, don't any of ya ever do that again.
Well, how do they start a war?
Soldier #1
Well, one country offends another.
How could one country offend another? You mean there's a mountain over in Germany gets mad at a field over in France?
Soldier #1
Well, stupid. One people offends another.
Oh, that's it. I shouldn't be here at all. I don't feel offended.
Katczinsky It don't apply to tramps like you.
Good. Then I can be going home right away...The Kaiser and me...Me and the Kaiser felt just alike about this war. We didn't neither of us want any war, so I'm going home. He's there already.
Soldier #1
Somebody must have wanted it. Maybe it was the English. No, I don't want to shoot any Englishman. I never saw one 'til I came up here. And I suppose most of them never saw a German 'til they came up here. No, I'm sure they weren't asked about it.
Soldier #2
Well, it must be doing somebody some good.
Not me and the Kaiser.
Soldier #1
I think maybe the Kaiser wanted a war.
You leave us out of this.
Katczinsky I don't see that. The Kaiser's got everything he needs.
Soldier #1
Well, he never had a war before. Every full-grown Emperor needs one war to make him famous. Why, that's history.
Yeah, Generals too. They need war.
Soldier #3
And manufacturers. They get rich.
Soldier #1
Nobody wants it in particular. And then all at once, here it is. We didn't want it. The English didn't want it. And here we are fighting.
Katczinsky I'll tell ya how it should all be done. Whenever there's a big war comin' on, you should rope off a big field.
Soldier #1
And sell tickets.
Katczinsky Yeah, and, and, on the big day, you should take all the kings and their cabinets and their generals, put them in the center dressed in their underpants and let 'em fight it out with clubs. The best country wins.
Katczinsky You couldn't do anything about it. We all have to kill. We can't help it. That's what we are here for... Now don't you lose any more sleep over this business.
Maybe it was because I was out there with him so long, huh?...After all, war is war.
Oh, I'm no good for back there any more, Kat. None of us are. We've been in this too long. The young men thought I was a coward because I told them that we learned that death is stronger than duty to one's country. The old men said: 'Go on! Push on to Paris!' My father even wanted me to wear my uniform around him. It's not home back there anymore. All I could think of was: 'I'd like to get back and see Kat again.' You're all I've got left, Kat.
Katczinsky I'm not much to have left. I missed you Paul.
At least we know what it's all about out here. There are no lies here.
Katczinsky 'Push on to Paris'? You ought to see what they've got on the other side. They eat white bread over there. They've got dozens of airplanes to our one. And tanks that'll go over anything. And what have we got? Guns so worn they've dropped shells on our own men. No food, no ammunition, no officers. 'Push on to Paris'? So that's the way they talk back there.
