Extracts from

“ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT”

First produced Feb 2006, Nottingham Playhouse

Dir. Giles Croft.

EXTRACT #1 PAUL (To Audience) Joseph Behm was in our class at school. Quiet. Pudgy. The sort you ignored most of the time. But then our Schoolmaster, Herr Kantorek started in on us to join up. Every day, he’d bring it up, regular as the cathedral bells. LEER (Imitating Kantorek) Won’t you join up, my young comrades? Remember the Spartans. The heroes of Marathon and Thermopylae! We must all throw ourselves into this great adventure!… PAUL We were young. He was our teacher. Our teacher!! We listened, and felt shamed. All except Behm. He held out longer than any of us. So Kantorek drew a bead on him.

LEER, imitating Kantorek, turns on MULLER, who imitates BEHM. LEER Willingness to make the sacrifice! That is the mark of a noble race. Is it not Behm? Do you not wish to fight honourably for mother Germany? Would you rather cringe at home, and sully your country’s fame with the stain of cowardice!

With the last word, “Cowardice”, he points an accusing finger at MULLER (as BEHM)..

PAUL How could anyone stand up to that? When twenty of us turned up at the local barracks for basic training – Behm was there.

The boys line up, dress off, and stand to attention. PAUL They taught us to march, to polish buttons, to make our boots gleam. And when they were done, we stood there with our bright buttons and our shiny boots… and called ourselves soldiers.

LEER (To Paul) We wised up fast enough when we got here, though, din’t we? PAUL It was like crossing the Styx. We entered the underworld…. 2 B. Company Date: Action

PAUL’s schoolfriends continue to change. The folded uniforms, we see now, are spattered and filthy. War-worn. They move slowly. They find spaces, drop guns and packs and slump. Around them sounds of trucks, shouting, whistles. Distant booming of big guns. The noise of daily life behind the lines.

ALL Coming through! Coming through! Cover! PAUL We got double rations today. Of everything. Corned beef, beans, tobacco, smokes. It wasn’t the plan, of course –It was all a… miscalculation if you like. You see, our company – B company, A hundred and fifty strong –– we’d been at the front for two solid weeks. …

A lugubrious looking cook (Actor 10) wheels on a trolley, KROPP, MULLER and LEER stand up with mess tins in their hands. They are joined by WESTUS, TJADEN, & DETERING.

PAUL It was pretty quiet until the very last day, Then suddenly the Tommies decided to open up with their heavy guns. All hell broke loose and we got it right in the neck

He’s now completed his change. PAUL Thing is, by that time, the rations had already been calculated, prepared, and brought up. That’s the German army for you. Nothing if not efficient,

TJADEN rubs his hands, and produces a mess tin from his box. He joins the “queue”. The cook makes no move to serve.

PAUL All the usual suspects at the front of the queue. Leer...

The scene is a little tableau. As each comrade is name-checked, he animates briefly to speak to the cook, before resuming his place.

LEER (To COOK) Come on then....

PAUL And my best mate Albert Kropp - remember him? KROPP (To COOK) What are you waiting for? Christmas? PAUL Smart as a whip is Albert – he’s a lance corporal already. MULLER (To COOK) Start dishing, you misery. PAUL You must remember Muller. He’s a bit rough at the edges, I know, but he’ll never let you down… You know he brought his school books out here with him. Recites equations during bombardments. Says it takes his mind off things. Then there other friends – the lads we met in training. Like Haie Westus…. WESTUS (To COOK) Come on you arse! I’m that hungry, I could eat a scabby dog!

COOK just looks at him. LEER (To COOK) Hear that? He wants to see the a la carte menu! WESTUS (Grumpily to LEER) You taking the piss?

WESTUS grabs LEER in a headlock and makes to punch him. It’s horseplay, and Leers just wriggles out laughing.

PAUL Haie’s A peat digger back home. Hands like shovels. I suppose you’d call him a peasant – to us he’s just a solid mate. Then there’s Detering… DETERING (To COOK) Ah, come on mate! My stomach thinks my throat’s been cut. PAUL Back home he's got a frau and a dairy farm, and he thinks of nothing else! PAUL And we can’t forget Tjaden…. DETERING However much we’d like to! TJADEN

Come on, serve up. S’not right, this! PAUL Would you believe that skinny little runt’s got the biggest appetite of all of us. He’ll sit down to eat looking like a rake – and waddle off five minutes later like a bug with a bun in the oven. You should see him pouring soup down his gullet when he thinks there’s an attack coming. TJADEN Listen, listen – way I look at it is – I make the most of what there is while I can. You might cash your chips before the hour’s out. KROPP Yeah, but like Kat keeps telling you - if you get a gut wound, it’s twice as dangerous on a full belly as on an empty one. TJADEN If I’m going to go, I’d rather go full than hungry, and that’s the truth. MULLER Where is Kat, by the way?

KAT enters and walks to the front of the queue. PAUL Ah - the man himself. Malitiaman Stanislaus Katczinski. Forty years old! KAT God, you make me sound ancient! PAUL Seen it all, done it all, and knows the system like he knows his guts! Our teacher, our protector… our leader – Kat!

Everyone says “Hi” or nods to KAT. They stand back for him as he sidles up to the front of the queue, Defying the cook to stop him, he lifts a lid on the trolley.

KAT Best serve up, lad. Anyone can see those beans are done. COOK When I’m ready. KROPP (To COOK) They’re not getting any hotter while you stand there scratching your nuts. KAT Patience, gentlemen please. He's obviously waiting for the fresh tablecloths and silver.

COOK (no trace of humour) You're a funny man. KAT Have a heart, son. These boys are starving. COOK I can’t serve till they're all here. TJADEN We are all here. COOK All of B. Company, smartarse. WESTUS This is all of B Company. COOK Do I look stupid? Where are the others? TJADEN At the dressing stations. MULLER Or pushing up daisies. LEER Either way they're not interested in your slop. COOK You mean…

They let it sink in. The COOK is staggered.

COOK Christ! But... (Bewildered) I’ve got enough here for…

The men all look at each other. They realise this is a feast in the making. COOK Hey, wait a minute. I can’t just… KROPP Hear that boys? Extra rations! COOK Hey! I didn’t say that.

TJADEN You mean... you've got enough bread for a hundred and fifty men?

COOK nods reluctantly. TJADEN And enough sausage too?

Cook nods TJADEN And margerine... and..and.. and.. coffee...and tobacco... and.. DETERING Yes Tjaden. You've got the idea! TJADEN Woo-ow!!! Hey boys!..... We've hit the bloody jack-pot, here, an't we? COOK Now just a minute. There's only, what, thirty of you! You'll get rations for thirty. KAT NO! You didn't draw rations for thirty. You drew rations for B company. And we're B company and we're hungry. So serve… the stew! COOK I haven’t got the authority. KAT (Waving his fist) This is your bloody authority!

An argument suddenly erupts. The Company are yelling up in KAT’s support. It's starting to get rough. KAT and the COOK are squaring up across the trolley. An OFFICER (Actor 9) appears.

OFFICER What’s going on here?

Everyone snaps to attention. COOK Sir, They want all these rations, sir. But there's only half of them here sir. TJADEN (Sarcastic) That's because….. OFFICER That's enough. (Points to PAUL) You! Name and Company.

PAUL Sir,Baumer, sir. B Company, Sir. OFFICER Ah - B company.... Yes… I hear they took some heavy losses. (Lifts the pot lid and sniffs. Turns to the cook) Smells good. COOK Sir,Thank you sir. OFFICER Serve up. COOK But sir... OFFICER Serve up!! At ease.

He turns on his heel and goes. The queue cheers. Cook begins to mime serving food, then the tableau breaks. PAUL turns to the audience.

PAUL So we eat...

The soldiers mime mechanical eating, as the COOK wheels the trolley off. From the trolley, several "soil boxes" have been unloaded.

3. Iron and Guts. PAUL And after we eat.. the high point of any day... the meeting of the senate.

He and the main group grab soil boxes and gather in a circle. In a formal synchronised way, they drop their trousers, squat on the boxes. They all turn to the audience. KROPP is reading a letter. An incredibly young-looking recruit walks in.

KAT God in Heaven. Look what they've sent us. WESTHUS Babies. They're sending babies now! RECRUIT I wonder if you help me sir. I'm looking for... He realises what they're doing.

RECRUIT Oh... sorry... sorry. Oh God, I'm so…. He scuttles off. They look at each other for a second then laugh MULLER Remember how embarrassed we were when we first got here? PAUL No privacy. KROPP Bare arses slung over a pole. LEER Cheek to Cheek! TJADEN We've got used to worse things, since. LEER Much worse. PAUL(To Audience) Us soldier's on better terms than most with our guts. We treats them like dear friends... WESTHUS (To PAUL) Perhaps that's ‘cos we’ve seen what it's like to be separated from them. KROPP Just think - back home, this is just something you have to do. DETERING. Here.... it's ……. (Straining beatifically) beautiful... MULLER You know, I think now I actually prefer - to... to... LEER (Posh voice) Defecate al fresco? KROPP Yeahhhhh….. TJADEN Sounds posh when he says it like that!! KAT If you can still cack, you're still alive!

PAUL That’s why, when a man gets killed out here, we say.. ALL “He’s nipped off his turd!”

. KROPP has been reading a letter. KROPP Hey Paul – My mum says Kantorek sends his best to his “Young comrades” MULLER Send him ours back – say “Wish you were here”. LEER (Imitating Kantorek) You should count it a privilege to live in these times, Muller! Do not let the trivial setbacks blind you to the great adventure!! KROPP We’re upholding the honour of our homeland… Apparently, MULLER Try telling Behm that. PAUL (To audience) Poor reluctant Behm. After all that, he was the first one to go. Sniper. We assumed he was dead until late afternoon. Someone heard him crying in no-man’s land. There he was, eye shot out, scuttling round in circles like an insect, We wanted to do something, but.. (beat) Thank Christ the second sniper got a clean shot. MULLER ”Comrades?” Comrades my arse! What does Kantorek know?

LEER leaps up, pulling up his trousers, and going into his impression of KANTOREK again. . It’s crueler now.

LEER Muller! I will not tolerate such insolence! See me afterwards! Kropp! KROPP Me sir? LEER Yes, you boy! What is meant by "The three-fold theme in "William Tell".... KROPP Who gives a monkey’s, sir?

LEER Muller! What was the purpose of the Poetic League of Gottingen? MULLER Stuff it up your jacksie, sir! LEER How many children had Charles the Bald? When was the Battle of Zama? Kropp! Leave yourself alone, boy! You’ll go blind! Baumer! Recite Bismark’s declaration for the German state. PAUL “We Germans fear God and “...No, wait, that's not it. "We, the German people fear no-one but God”... No.... What’s the matter with me.... LEER You'll never amount to anything, Baumer! PAUL (Troubled) “We the German Nation…” - I used to know it so well… LEER (His imitation is a bit hysterical now) How can you expect to get through this war unless you know the population of Melbourne, and the meaning of "cohesion"? Or is it the copulation of Mohicans? PAUL(Lost to them) I can't believe I’ve forgotten! KROPP Oh, What does it matter anyway? How can you take that shit seriously once you've been through this shit? KAT Hey. Baby's back.

The RECRUIT has returned. RECRUIT Sorry sir ... I wondered... I'm looking for Franz Kemmerich.

The lads all look at each other. They turn sombre.

KROPP He’s not here, kid. RECRUIT Do you know where I might...

DETERING St Josephs’ hospital. Infected thigh wound. WESTUS Lucky bugger. He won't be back here in a hurry. TJADEN I heard they might have to take it off. KROPP Shit! WESTHUS Even better. Bugger won't have to come back at all then. I'd give a leg to get home. Swear to God. KAT Hey. Less of that. Children present. WESTUS He'll learn soon enough. KROPP Shit. His leg…He was our star gymnast. Tipped to be regional champion. KAT (To RECRUIT) Hey, what have they been feeding you on, son? I’ve seen lice fatter than you! RECRUIT Er.. Turnip bread.. turnip stew… turnip cutlets…. KAT Fancy something with … less turnip?

The OTHERS laugh. KAT Bugger off. I’m serious! (To RECRUIT) Well? RECRUIT (Almost in tears) Oh, God…yes, sir! KAT Don’t “Sir” me. Just bring me that bag over.

The RECRUIT goes and gets KAT’s knapsack. The RECRUIT watches in agony as KAT cuts off a hunk of salami.

KAT

Anytime you need anything. You just ask for Kat. Understand? He hands over the slice, but grabs the Recruit’s hand.

KAT Only next time, have a cigar, or a chew of baccy in the other hand. You get me? RECRUIT. Yes. Of course. Thank you sir. KAT Not “Sir”. Kat. KAT!!!

The RECRUIT leaves, eating almost ferally. They watch him go, remembering themselves when they arrived.

KAT Now… what were we talking about? LEER Poor old Kemmerich. WESTUS Lucky old Kemmerich. I keep telling you.. KROPP Hey Paul. Kantorek says to “keep giving them hell!” DETERING Why? Buggers only give it back. KROPP Calls us the “Iron Youth”. PAUL Youth?? (Turns to audience) That’s a laugh. Look at us. We’re old men. Seventeen years old, and as ancient as the earth… As for Kemmerich …

EXTRACT ENDS

EXTRACT #2

11. River Crossing

The stage clears except for PAUL, TJADEN and KROPP. KROPP Corned beef… Come on. Give. You know it’ll be worth it…

PAUL reaches into his pack and hands over a liver sausage. PAUL (To audience) Just as we turn to animals when we get to the front, the minute we’re behind the lines we turn to wags and loafers. We crack coarse jokes. We plan escapades.

LEER comes in. He has two fat loaves of bread. LEER More bread! PAUL The brass call it “the good humour of the troops”. In fact it’s just a tight, thin thread. If it snapped.. we’d fly to pieces altogether..still… LEER Come on, butterfly boy! We’re on a mission, remember? PAUL Right.. right! (To audience) We had been billeted in some abandoned houses near a canal. On one of the outside walls Albert found a poster….

KROPP takes the poster from his tunic and unfolds it.. KROPP Look at her! PAUL She is… beautiful. TJADEN She couldn’t march far in them shoes. KROPP There was a bloke next to her – but he was dressed all lardy, so I tore him off. LEER

Quite right too. She’s ours. TJADEN How old, you reckon? PAUL Twenty one? LEER Never! That’s older than us. PAUL You’re right. Seventeen then. Yes. Sweet seventeen… TJADEN Oh. Go----od…! KROPP (With decision) I’m going to get de-loused! PAUL Why? KROPP Doesn’t seem right, that’s all. Her like that and us… like this. PAUL Fair point. I’ll come with you… TJADEN Oh.. my God.. Look!

The others look. Three girls (Actors 6,9 &10) are walking along the other side of the canal.

LEER Hey!… Hey… Plus Belles. Vous etes plus belles!

The girls laugh and whisper to each other. PAUL We tried to make jokes. They answered with things we didn’t understand. Tjaden had the right idea though.

TJADEN waves two big loaves. The girls clap their hands and nod. They hold out their hands.

TJADEN (Grinning)

Bread speaks any language! LEER (with gestures) Cross the canal, and we’ll give them to you…There’s a bridge… that way.. You… walk over.. to this side!

The girls point, and beckon. TJADEN (muttering) We can’t go over there. There’s sentries. LEER I know that, you idiot. (To girls) We…. cannot cross… You… come… over….here!

The girls shake their heads. Make more gestures.

KROPP What are they saying? GIRL Maison…. Haus…. La Bas…. KROPP You… live down there??

One of the girls has been elected “spokeswoman”(Actor 9). She nods. Points again at the boys. Beckons to the house.

LEER (in an agony of frustration) We can’t… We’d love to – God we’d love to - but… GIRLS Ce soir! Ce soir! LEER Soir... Night. Oh my God, lads. They want us to go over tonight!

The girl points at the boys. Then at herself and her friends. Then mimes caresses, & rests her head on her folded hands, indicating sleep.

LEER They… KROPP Yeah! Even I know what that means. TJADEN We can’t! LEER

We bloody can!

Back in “real time”, He puts the last of the food into the knapsacks. KROPP Right! Cognac, corned beef, bread and cigarettes.. That should do us. PAUL We go to the canteen, drink some Dutch courage and pretend to each other that we are men of the world. Then…. we do a shameful thing.

LEER pulls KROPP and PAUL into him.

LEER Listen - there are four of us, right. But only three of them. PAUL Ah – so… what do we do? LEER We get Tjaden pissed. KROPP Ah.. Come on. Isn’t that a bit… LEER (Admonishing) Ah ah! All’s fair in Love and war. And don’t forget, this is war. LEER Company – stri-ip… off! LEER How are you at backstoke, Albert? KROPP All right. Why? LEER (Throwing knapsack) Good. You can carry the grub, KROPP What about our clothes? LEER (After a moment’s deep consideration) Sod ‘em. Except the boots. You can carry them an’ all. KROPP Why boots?

LEER You’ll need ‘em on the other side, dickhead. Get your feet cut round here, you’ll have gangrene in no time. PAUL He’s right. PAUL A few minutes later, we’re across the canal. LEER Come on. PAUL And we run through the woods - three lads, dripping wet, naked above their boots, KROPP I can’t believe we’re doing this. PAUL We trip, fall, skin our knees. We don’t care. LEER Shhhh! There’s the house. KROPP You’re sure this is the one? LEER If it’s not, some old biddy’s getting the shock of her life!! Go on. Go and knock KROPP Me? Why me? LEER You bloody baby! PAUL I’ll do it. PAUL goes across to the “door”. KROPP(hissing urgently) Wait! LEER What’s wrong now? KROPP

What if there’s someone else in there? An officer. A major?!! LEER Got your name and number tattooed on your arse, have you? Neither have I! So what’s he going to do, Eh? Go on, Paul

Lights come on, bright and strong. The girls stand there. The boys cover themselves as if they were naked, KROPP holding the food bag to cover his privates. The girls laugh…and then beckon the boys in.

KROPP Ohhh… smell that - woodsmoke and perfume!

The lads relax. LEER hands over the food. The girls fall on it. PAUL We all eat. Then….

KROPP and LEER pair off with girls and go off. PAUL sits. His girl (Actor 9) comes and stands next to him. They are silent for a while. Awkward. Then she touches his hair. He almost shudders

GIRL La Guerre… grand malheur… pauvres garcons…

She carries on murmuring in French, stroking his hair. The stage dims until only they remain in a halo of light. He takes her other hand.

PAUL I’m not wearing a tunic, or a belt, or a cap. I’ve no rifle or insignia –no soldierly swagger to hide behind. I am just… Paul. Her mouth moves on, saying things I can’t understand. The soft foreignness of her words sooths me. Her face, luminous and gentle, shines above mine…and suddenly I want…. I so want it all to fall away from me - all the grossness, and the filth and the death and the terror. I want to wake up young again, and happy...

She is still standing over him. He begins to cry. She speaks soothingly, leans down, and kisses him on the mouth. He pulls her down to sit on his lap…BLACKOUT. A few moments later, we hear LEER

LEER I told you it would be worth it, didn’t I?

Lights up dimly, The three of them are creeping back to the river

LEER What was yours like? Eh? I said what was… KROPP Shh! Someone’s coming.

They run and hide. TJADEN scuttles in, crouched as if naked, carrying a bag of food in front of his privates. The three hidden comrades snigger. TJADEN hears something, and looks round crossly. The lads shush each other..

TJADEN Kropp? Baumer, Leer? You bastards - Is that you?

He looks around suspiciously for a few seconds, then scuttles on again. The others come out of their hiding place.

PAUL He’s going to kill us in the morning.

They look at each other guiltily. Look after TJADEN. Look at each other again. And burst into suppressed laughter.

EXTRACT ENDS

EXTRACT #3

Towards the end of the play, all Paul’s friends

have been killed. Only Kat remains…

PAUL Our lines are forced back further every day. We’ve hardly any ammunition. And the recruits they’re sending! Old men, most of ‘em. KAT Germany must be empty! PAUL As for food! The other side have fresh bread,corned beef, real coffee. We get a cup of warm barley if we’re lucky. Even Kat can’t scare up any extra.

Pause. Some idea of transition PAUL Late August… Dog days. Thunderstorms. Grey rain, grey skies, grey fluid earth. Still they talk of it ending, but it’s deadly, this breath of hope. Kat and I are out on patrol…

SFX burst of fire. KAT cries out and collapses clutching his hip. PAUL rushes to check the wound.

PAUL Kat!?? KAT Oh, not now! God, not now! PAUL It’s fine. It’s all right. It’s not as deep as you think. KAT Don’t talk bollocks! I’m bleeding like a tap! PAUL Can you walk?

KAT tries. Collapses again. KAT No. Got any dressings? PAUL No.

KAT A smoke? PAUL No. KAT Well, aren’t we set up nicely? PAUL There’s a dressing station back there. KAT I can’t. I can’t. PAUL I’ll carry you!

He heaves KAT across his shoulders. And begins to “walk” towards the audience, dodging gunfire and flinching from explosions. KAT groans.

PAUL Stay with me, Kat!! KAT I’m not going anywhere am I, you Pillock? Oh, why now? Just when it’s finishing? PAUL We don’t know that. It’s crap-house gossip! That hip’s a ticket home if ever I saw one. KAT Not these days. They’ll mark me A1, and throw me straight back! PAUL Hey, there was a story they told me at the hospital. You’ll like this Kat… KAT? KAT Yes? PAUL Listen Kat. It’s a good one… Staff surgeon’s trying to find A1 conscripts, right, and he’s not even looking them over, you know – just ticking them off the list and saying “A1, A1, A1.” So, this one bloke says “Hang on – I’ve lost me bloody leg” The surgeon says “That shouldn’t slow a brave man down – A1” So the bloke gets fitted with a wooden leg and sent to the front again, and what do you know? Kat? Still with me?

KAT (With an effort) Hanging… on your every…word! PAUL So the bloke gets sent back and pretty soon his other leg gets blown off. So he’s carried in to the staff surgeon again, right? Right? Kat? And the surgeon just issues him another wooden leg and passes him A1 again. So as the bloke’s hobbling out, he turns to the Surgeon, and he says “I hope they blow my head off next time”. Surgeon says “Why’s that?”. And the bloke says.. he says… “Because as soon as they give me a wooden head, I’m going to apply for your job!” Good one, eh Kat? Ah.. This is it, Kat. Dressing station. End of the line, mate

A MEDICAL ORDERLY and STRETCHER BEARER(Actors 7&10) run on, help PAUL lay KAT down. PAUL sits on a box, exhausted.

ORDERLY You could have saved yourself the trouble.

PAUL looks at him uncomprehendingly. ORDERLY This man’s dead. PAUL (Exhausted) No. He’s fainted. He’s got a hip wound. He’s just lost a lot of blood. ORDERLY Look at him. PAUL No.. he’s just…. just fainted…that’s all. He can’t be…It’s Kat… ORDERLY He’s dead. PAUL But… we were just talking…

The ORDERLY puts his hand to the back of KAT’s head. Holds it up covered in blood. He wraps KAT’S body in the Tarpaulin.

STRETCHER BEARER Probably caught a shrap splinter on the way. It happens. ORDERLY You weren’t related, were you? PAUL

PAUL No. No, we weren’t related.

The ORDERLIES heave away KAT’s body and add it to the growing pile. PAUL comes forward in a daze.

PAUL We weren’t related. I take in everything around me. Same sky; same air on my face; same rumble of war in the distance. Just the one difference. The tiny adjustment that spins my world off its axis. Arch-scavenger, arch-survivor. My friend - Militiaman Stanislaus Katczinsky, - is dead. Kat ‘s dead. Let the war go on forever. What does it matter now? It can’t take any more from me. When you are so blank, so hollow, you can face anything. I am the last of my classmates. The last of our whole band. Not a comrade any more. You can’t be a single comrade.(beat. he assumes a watchful at-the-ready position) October 1918. A quiet day. So still. butterflies dancing on the wire – Brimstones – they always stay the longest…This day reminds me of something Kat used to…..

A pop. Nothing more ominous than that, but Paul falls, without spasm or convulsion, and lies still.

From opposite sides, an OFFICER, tired to death (Actor 3 – DETERING) and a RECRUIT (Actor 8) enter. The RECRUIT hands the OFFICER a sheet of paper and salutes. 10. All Quiet. RECRUIT Sir. OFFICER What’s this? RECRUIT Sir, Today’s casualties, Sir. OFFICER Pretty light. (Reads), Abendroth, Adler, Altenberg, Balg, Bauer, Baumer…

He walks away, reading the rest of the casualty list. Two ORDERLIES arrive and cart his body to the bogey. The officer returns, hands the list back, and walks away.

RECRUIT Er… with your permission Captain - what should I put ? OFFICER

What? RECRUIT In the report, sir? What should I say? OFFICER What? Oh…er.. put…erm.. “All quiet”. RECRUIT Sir? OFFICER Yes. Say “All quiet on Western Front”. That’ll do.

The RECRUIT and the OFFICER turn and leave on opposite sides. The cast wheel off the bodies to the strains of “Watch on the Rhine”:

Dear Fatherland, our blood is yours We’ll rally swiftly to the cause Stand strong and true the watch - And guard the Rhine!

ALBERT KROPP, crippled ex-soldier, is left sitting, playing the accordion and singing the last haunting line:

While breathes one German still We’ll guard the Rhine!

As the factory doors shut…..

THE END

EXTRACT ENDS