Page "All Quiet on the Western Front" Paragraph 34

Corporal Himmelstoß ( spelled Himmelstoss in some editions ) was a post-man before enlisting in the war.

He is a power-hungry corporal with special contempt for Paul and his friends, taking sadistic pleasure in punishing the minor infractions of his trainees during their basic training in preparation for their deployment.

Paul later figures that the training taught by Himmelstoß made them " hard, suspicious, pitiless, and tough " but most importantly it taught them comradeship.

However, Bäumer and his comrades have a chance to get back at Himmelstoß because of his punishments, mercilessly whipping him on the night before they board trains to go to the front.