A depiction of German people like any other people

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is unique in Western film for its depiction of Germany and the German people of World War I, pre-Nazi era. The German people are as proud of their nation as the British, French, and Americans. They are measurably more nationalistic, believing in the Kaiser's dream of a greater united Germany with worldwide colonial possessions and influence like the British and the French, but they still believe in God and civilized behavior and are far from the warlike, race hatred of the Nazi era twenty years down the road and have no place for God in their hearts and their lives.

The Kaiser was the enemy but he was not the gross evil, malignant monster of Adolf Hitler. The Kaiser apparently did not harbor deep religious or spiritual convictions or beliefs, but as the defender of Christianity in Germany at least had to pay lip service to it, not so of Hitler and his henchmen who despised Christianity as a 'Jew' religion.

Maybe it would have been better had the Kaiser remained in power. Would he have attempted to rearm Germany years later when the Allies dissolved their alliance and demobilized their armies? Probably. But I doubt the Kaiser would have wanted to embark upon another world war. And there wouldn't be any concentration camps or wholesale slaughter of other nation's peoples.