Paul is a young German soldier and the narrator of the story. Before the war, he is an aspiring writer working on a poetry collection. Military training and trench warfare strip away his youthful ideals, replacing them with a hardened instinct for survival. He acts as the social conscience of his group, observing the psychological trauma of combat and the hypocrisy of the elite classes who sent him to fight.

Kat is a practical, resourceful older soldier in Paul's company who possesses a sixth sense for finding food and supplies. A cobbler by trade in civilian life, he serves as a grounded counterweight to the inexperienced recruits and out-of-touch authority figures. He is generous with his scavenged provisions, such as fresh goose, and provides steady guidance to the younger men.

Tjaden is a sharp-featured, food-motivated soldier in Paul's company with a highly pragmatic and localized view of the war. He struggles to understand the abstract political reasons for the conflict, viewing the war purely through the lens of daily survival and personal grievances. He directs intense, purposeful aggression toward those who force him to fight, rather than the enemy soldiers.

Kantorek is a stern little man in a grey tailcoat who served as the schoolteacher for Paul and his friends. He represents the older, elite generation that enthusiastically drums up support for the war effort without ever having to face the physical realities of combat. He acts as a propagandist, using his authority to manipulate young men into joining the military by appealing to their sense of duty.

Albert Kropp is a thinker with a vivid imagination serving in Paul's company. He analyzes the structural absurdities of the war, proposing scenarios like having army leaders fight each other in a gladiator ring. He processes the trauma of the front lines through dark humor and theoretical discussions.

Muller is a pragmatic soldier in Paul's platoon. He maintains a factual outlook on their grim situation and frequently questions the other men about their post-war plans, revealing how little any of them have thought about a future beyond the trenches.

Kemmerich is a boyhood friend of Paul's who lies in a hospital bed after having his foot amputated. His rapid physical decline in the medical ward serves as an early lesson to the other boys about the cold, impersonal machinery of war and the fragility of their lives.

Corporal Himmelstoss is a cruel training officer who spent ten weeks trying to break the will of Paul and his fellow recruits. He uses his minor authority to terrify and intimidate the young teenagers. When he is eventually deployed to the front lines, he faces the actual horrors of war and encounters the hardened veterans his former trainees have become.

Detering is a soldier in Paul's company who is deeply disturbed by the unnatural elements of the war. He possesses a strong sense of arbitrary morality regarding the innocents brought into the conflict, directing particular outrage toward the military's use of horses in modern artillery bombardments.

Haie is a soldier in Paul's company who occasionally lets his mind wander to peaceful memories of autumn evenings, village bells, and ale-houses. These daydreams inevitably leave him irritable and silent, recognizing the impossible distance between his past life and the current reality of the trenches.

Berger is a soldier in Paul's company whose actions illustrate the razor-thin line between sanity and madness at the front. He demonstrates erratic behavior during intense fighting, acting on impulses that endanger himself and others.

Paul's mother remains at home suffering from an illness, likely cancer. She speaks very little during Paul's visit, but the unspoken tension between her deteriorating health and her son's psychological trauma creates a heavy, sorrowful atmosphere in the family home.

Paul's father is a working-class man struggling to maintain his household while his son is at war and his wife is severely ill. He lacks the financial means to easily afford his wife's medical treatments, illustrating the economic burdens placed on the poorer classes during the conflict.

Paul's sister remains in their childhood home during the war. Her presence during Paul's leave highlights his alienation, as she belongs to a peaceful domestic world that he can no longer connect with.

The grieving mother of Paul's boyhood friend. She insists on hearing the exact details of her son's final moments, forcing those returning from the front to navigate the heavy emotional burden of delivering tragic news to civilians.