by the misery of combat, and they dramatically change their attitudes toward life and their personalities from the outset of the war to the conclusion. At the beginning of the book, Remarque notes:

This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war.

The task of finding a static character in a novel with a theme of inevitable change after combat requires a search for one whose personality remains the same throughout the conflict. Virtually all of Remarque’s characters in this novel undergo drastic changes. For example, the drill instructor, Corporal Himmelstoss, is almost sadistic in his attempts to break the spirits of the soldiers he is entrusted with training. However, when he finds himself in combat, he panics. Ultimately, he changes into a good soldier. Another example is that of Albert Kropp. At the beginning of the novel, he is an idealistic personality who sees the positive side of life, until the horrors of war alter his outlook. He becomes pessimistic about life itself.

The character who appears to change the least throughout the novel is Stanislaus “Kat” Katczinsky:

Stanislaus Katczinsky, the leader of our group, shrewd, cunning, and hard-bitten, forty years of age, with a face of the soil, blue eyes, bent shoulders, and a remarkable nose for dirty weather, good food, and soft jobs.

When the troops arrive at the front lines, Kat treats them with kindness. At age forty, he recognizes that they are young, inexperienced, and scared. He believes that people mistreat others out of a lust for power with an animal instinct. Kat does not appear to change even under the stress of combat. He also forms a friendship with the protagonist, Baumer, who observes:

We couldn't do without Katczinsky; he has a sixth sense. There are such people everywhere but one does not appreciate it at first. Every company has one or two. Katczinsky is the smartest I know. By trade he is a cobbler, I believe, but that hasn't anything to do with it; he understands all trades. It's a good thing to be friends with him ...

Unlike most of the other soldiers in this novel, Kat meets the criteria for a static character, especially in light of his relationship with Baumer and the assistance he renders him.

One of Erich Maria Remarque’s principal themes in the novel is that war profoundly changes those who live through it. He does include several static characters, however. Some of these characters support the war and do not believe that it was a bad idea to send the boys into combat or commit the country’s financial resources to a risky venture. A few of the soldiers cannot adapt to the rigors of their new life.

Paul and his schoolmates are encouraged by their teacher, Kantorek. He and others of his generation remain invested in the war. Paul comments that "there were thousands of Kantoreks, all of whom were convinced that they were acting for the best” but who are in denial about the devastation the German people are suffering. Kantorek, too old for combat, channels his patriotism into reserve duty.

Detering, the deserter, is a farmer who can endure neither combat, including the horses’ suffering, nor being away from his wife and their farm.

Frau Baumer is both static and flat; although her health deteriorates, her role in the book is primarily to serve as Paul’s mother, not a nuanced representation of a woman, and she remains devoted and self-sacrificing. While he is home on leave, although he is concerned over her critical illness, Paul can gauge the extent of his internal changes by observing her constancy.

Keep in mind that the definition of static character (as opposed to dynamic character) is one who does not change.  One of the main themes of this book is the changes the war brings out in the lives, hearts, and minds of the soldiers.  Paul frequently reflects on how much the war has "changed them" all.  That said, Franz Kimmerich, who dies in chapter 2, could be considered a static character.

We learn from a flashback that Kimmerich is one of Paul's schoolmates, whose mother, just before they leave for the war, asks Paul to watch over her son.  She is crying and carrying on, almost mirroring her own son's sensitivity and weakness.  It is not surprising, therefore, that as he lays in the hospital bed, leg amputated, the others do not tell him how bad his condition is.  One inference that can be made about the timing of his death, is that he was not fit for survival.  His own mother seemed to know this before he went to the war, and sadly, he is one of the first of Paul's friends to die.