This topic is quite old but I didn't saw it ended. Congratulation it's very relistic, and very well done.
about your observation concerning your motivations, reading the two remarque and Barbusse sentences, their are obvious (with your permision I do them mine, changing the languages, like the ying and the yang).
My grand father hated germans and yours surely had the same sentiments for the french. but we learned to know and apreciated each other: what we did is important.
dark times are coming, so keep those positive acts in our mind is important, I think.
Xan