--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man cannot realize that above such…" description: "\"“A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its daily round. And this is only one hospital, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg" --- # A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies… ![“A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its daily round. And this is only one hospital, a single station; there are hundreds of thousands in Germany, hundreds of thousands in France, hundreds of thousands in Russia. How senseless is…” quote by Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg) > ““A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its daily round. And this is only one hospital, a single station; there are hundreds of thousands in Germany, hundreds of thousands in France, hundreds of thousands in Russia. How senseless is everything that can ever be written, done, or thought, when such things are possible. It must be all lies and of no account when the culture of a thousand years could not prevent this stream of blood being poured out, these torture chambers in their hundreds of thousands. A hospital alone shows what war is.”” [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War reveals the absurdity of human suffering, showing that even centuries of culture cannot stop mass violence. **In simple terms:** War shows how fragile civilization is. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the cost of conflict. Themes war human suffering absurdity Mood grim thought‑provoking Type literary historical When to use this quote - military policy - humanitarian aid - education curricula Key Concepts ethics history politics Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about humanity’s capacity for cruelty? - How can societies prevent such tragedies? A Different Perspective The quote may generalize all war experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hospitals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitals/) [Human faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-faces/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [How senseless is everything that can ever be written, done, or thought, when such things are possible. It must be all lies and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/how-senseless-is-everything-that-can-ever-be-written-done-or-thought/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [A hospital alone shows what war is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-hospital-alone-shows-what-war-is/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [If a quick glance back over world history shows us anything, it shows us that war was one of our most universal joys from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/if-a-quick-glance-back-over-world-history-shows-us-anything-it-shows/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [“Everything she wanted to tell her, was unable to tell her, because she was afraid of hearing her own voice come out of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/everything-she-wanted-to-tell-her-was-unable-to-tell-her-because-she/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [What if English toil and blood Was poured forth, even as a flood? It availed, Oh, Liberty, To dim, but not extinguish thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/what-if-english-toil-and-blood-was-poured-forth-even-as-a-flood-it/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Come on then!” Lussk was laughing, jeering as the things charged at him. He’d stopped fighting them off and instead had allowed them full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-schreiber/come-on-then-lussk-was-laughing-jeering-as-the-things-charged-at-him/) [Joe Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-schreiber/) > [The blood that poured from Christ's wounds bought your salvation. If you want to truly value what He did, think of Him hanging on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/the-blood-that-poured-from-christ-s-wounds-bought-your-salvation-if/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [Relish the fresh landscape of my wound, break rushes and delicate rivulets, drink blood poured on honeyed thigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/relish-the-fresh-landscape-of-my-wound-break-rushes-and-delicate/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [“Somebody had slit open the leaden, fat underbelly of the heavens and its blood poured earthward. It fell and became a rain that washed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-james-freeman/somebody-had-slit-open-the-leaden-fat-underbelly-of-the-heavens-and/) Brian James Freeman > [Shamefully we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/shamefully-we-now-learn-that-saddam-s-torture-chambers-reopened-under/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [Screenwriting is no more complicated than old French torture chambers, I think. It's about as simple as that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-brooks/screenwriting-is-no-more-complicated-than-old-french-torture-chambers/) [James L. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/) > [Men have died in torture chambers, on the stake, in concentration camps, in front of firing squads, rather than renounce their convictions. The appeaser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/men-have-died-in-torture-chambers-on-the-stake-in-concentration-camps/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Strange how blind people are! They are horrified by the torture chambers of the Middle Ages, but their arsenals fill them with pride!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/strange-how-blind-people-are-they-are-horrified-by-the-torture/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [Modern man likes to pretend that his thinking is wide-awake. But this wide-awake thinking has led us into the mazes of a nightmare in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/modern-man-likes-to-pretend-that-his-thinking-is-wide-awake-but-this/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The torture and other sadistic abuses of prisoners in Iraq have done immense damage already to America's reputation in the world, and the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/the-torture-and-other-sadistic-abuses-of-prisoners-in-iraq-have-done/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) ## More by Erich Maria Remarque > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-idea-of-authority-which-they-represented-was-associated-in-our/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“It was a long time since I had been in a theatre. And I would not have come now had Pat not wanted it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-was-a-long-time-since-i-had-been-in-a-theatre-and-i-would-not-have/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Besides,” continued Gottfried, “you’re coming now to the time when the difference between a bourgeois and a cavalier begins to show. A bourgeois always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/besides-continued-gottfried-you-re-coming-now-to-the-time-when-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“They are wearing new uniforms and greatcoats; their boots are water-tight and fit well; their rifles are good and their pouches full of ammunition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/they-are-wearing-new-uniforms-and-greatcoats-their-boots-are-water/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Shortly after the war Valentin had come into a little money, and had been drinking it ever since. He considered it his duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/shortly-after-the-war-valentin-had-come-into-a-little-money-and-had/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“A man has to have something he can put faith in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-man-has-to-have-something-he-can-put-faith-in/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“It is very queer that the unhappiness of the world is so often brought on by small men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-is-very-queer-that-the-unhappiness-of-the-world-is-so-often/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [I, too, am going to go away soon,' she says, 'I am weary and weary of my weariness. Everything is beginning to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-too-am-going-to-go-away-soon-she-says-i-am-weary-and-weary-of-my/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“One is never too young. Only always too old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/one-is-never-too-young-only-always-too-old/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [You take it from me, we are losing the war because we can salute too well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/you-take-it-from-me-we-are-losing-the-war-because-we-can-salute-too/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“It keeps them going, staves off the evil day when they will be alone. And to be alone, really alone, without illusion, that way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-keeps-them-going-staves-off-the-evil-day-when-they-will-be-alone/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Suddenly he knew all the things he should have said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/suddenly-he-knew-all-the-things-he-should-have-said/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“To hell with it. What was the use trying to make safe and sure our little life? Sooner or later the great wave must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/to-hell-with-it-what-was-the-use-trying-to-make-safe-and-sure-our/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“I glance at my boots. They are big and clumsy, the breeches are tucked into them, and standing up one looks well-built and powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-glance-at-my-boots-they-are-big-and-clumsy-the-breeches-are-tucked/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) [Explore all 360 Erich Maria Remarque quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## More Hospitals quotes > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [I try to be the clown and court jester and make people laugh. At the same time, you have people in the hospital who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-try-to-be-the-clown-and-court-jester-and-make-people-laugh-at-the/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-pretty-cautious-and-not-very-athletic-so-i-ve-only-had-really/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [As we go on with our lives we tend to forget that the jails and the hospitals and the madhouses and the graveyards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/as-we-go-on-with-our-lives-we-tend-to-forget-that-the-jails-and-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [To go to hospitals and see people fight and overcome cystic fibrosis or cancer or any number of illnesses is to see courage that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-murphy/to-go-to-hospitals-and-see-people-fight-and-overcome-cystic-fibrosis/) [Dale Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-murphy/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) Benedict Fitzgerald > [I think America is really in denial about the degree to which residents, particularly foreign medical graduates, man the county hospitals of this country,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-america-is-really-in-denial-about-the-degree-to-which/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [The investment in our mining industry has been very positive for Australia but we need to be doing more if we want, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/the-investment-in-our-mining-industry-has-been-very-positive-for/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [You know, you don't see hospital consultants going on strike, and I don't believe that teachers and headteachers should. It's within their rights, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gove/you-know-you-don-t-see-hospital-consultants-going-on-strike-and-i-don/) [Michael Gove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gove/) > [It's a topsy-turvy world in which a country can import the same amount of ice-cream, toilet paper and other goods to trading partners as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-simms/it-s-a-topsy-turvy-world-in-which-a-country-can-import-the-same/) [Andrew Simms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-simms/) > [We forget today that Britain still depends for its livelihood and, indeed, its day-to-day survival, on the sea. But the Royal Navy is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keegan/we-forget-today-that-britain-still-depends-for-its-livelihood-and/) [John Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keegan/) [Browse all 766 Hospitals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its daily round. And this is only one hospital, a single station; there are hundreds of thousands in Germany, hundreds of thousands in France, hundreds of thousands in Russia. How senseless is everything that can ever be written, done, or thought, when such things are possible. It must be all lies and of no account when the culture of a thousand years could not prevent this stream of blood being poured out, these torture chambers in their hundreds of thousands. A hospital alone shows what war is.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erich Maria Remarque" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-shattered-bodies-there-are-still/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hospitals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-shattered-bodies-there-are-still/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/erich-maria-remarque-568_hospitals_a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-sha_1834788.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its…” — Erich Maria Remarque", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erich Maria Remarque", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A man cannot realize that above...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-shattered-bodies-there-are-still/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-man-cannot-realize-that-above-such-shattered-bodies-there-are-still/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```