A student at the University of Munster, Remarque was drafted into the German army at the age of 18. He fought on the Western Front during World War I and was wounded no fewer than five times, the last time seriously.
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Was Erich Maria Remarque anti-war?
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is arguably the most famous anti-war novel of all time. Published in 1928, the novel was one of the greatest book successes of the first half of the 20th century. The picture it paints, the inhuman reality of war, reflected the experiences of millions of soldiers.
What did Erich Maria Remarque do after the war?
Remarque was drafted into the German army at the age of 18 and was wounded several times. After the war he worked as a racing-car driver and as a sportswriter while working on All Quiet on the Western Front.
Why is Erich Maria Remarque important?
In 1929, Remarque scored his greatest, and most lasting, success with the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues). The work graphically depicted the horrors and brutality of World War I (1914-1918) through the tragic experiences of a group of young German soldiers.
Was All Quiet on the Western Front a true story?
The novel All Quiet on the Western Front is a fictionalized account of the author's experiences during World War I. The 1979 movie is also fictionalized story, although it is often considered to be a fairly accurate depiction of soldiers' experiences during the war.
Who was declared a traitor in All Quiet on the Western Front?
Erich Maria RemarqueNationalityGermanCitizenshipUnited States (1947–1970)Notable worksAll Quiet on the Western FrontSpouseIlse Jutta Zambona ( m. 1925; div. 1930) Paulette Goddard ( m. 1958)4 more rows
Why is All Quiet on the Western Front important?
All Quiet on the Western Front was one of the many books burned by the Nazi Party after Hitler took power, because of its representation of German soldiers as disillusioned and its perceived negative representation of Germany. The book was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Is All Quiet on the Western Front anti war?
All Quiet on the Western Front is fervently anti-war, both in its original novel form and new film adaptation.
Is All Quiet on the Western Front worth reading?
All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest novels of all time, a personal favourite of mine and one I believe ought to be read by every generation.
What does All Quiet on the Western Front say about war?
Whereas war novels before All Quiet on the Western Front tended to romanticize what war was like, emphasizing ideas such as glory, honor, patriotic duty, and adventure, All Quiet on the Western Front sets out to portray war as it was actually experienced, replacing the romantic picture of glory and heroism with a ...
Who is the enemy in All Quiet on the Western Front?
ignoranceBroadly, the enemy here is ignorance.
How old is Kat in All Quiet on the Western Front?
about 40 years oldAt about 40 years old, Kat is the father figure and leader for many of the younger men. He helps out his younger comrades -- fellow soldiers -- and teaches them many things about how to survive in war.
How long does it take to read All Quiet on the Western Front?
The average reader will spend 5 hours and 4 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).
When was the last German offensive of the Western Front?
1918The Spring Offensives of 1918 were Germany's last attempt to defeat the British and French armies on the Western Front, and thereby win total victory. Their failure by the mid-summer left the German army fatally weakened, demoralized and facing its own imminent and inevitable defeat through an Allied counteroffensive.
How long did it take to write All Quiet on the Western Front?
five weeksDrawn to local social events, he developed a reputation for high living. Im Westen nichts Neues (literally "In the West, nothing new"), his first and most famous work of fiction, was written in five weeks in 1927. Following serial publication in a magazine, the book was published in January 1929.
Where Did Erich Maria Remarque live?
OsnabrückErich Maria Remarque / Places lived
How was All Quiet on the Western Front received?
An estimated 30 to 40-million copies of All Quiet on the Western Front have been sold since it was first published in 1929, and the film would win that year's Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Production. It is still regarded as one of the best war movies ever made.
Where was Erich Remarque born?
Erich Maria Remarque was born on 22 June 1898 into a working class Roman Catholic family in the German city of Osnabrück to Peter Franz Remark (b. 14 June 1867, Kaiserswerth) and Anna Maria ( née Stallknecht; born 21 November 1871, Katernberg). Remarque was the third of four children of Peter and Anna.
What was the name of the German army that Remarque was in?
During World War I, Remarque was conscripted into the German Imperial Army at the age of 18. On 12 June 1917, he was transferred to the Western Front, 2nd Company, Reserves, Field Depot of the 2nd Guards Reserve Division at Hem-Lenglet. On 26 June 1917 he was posted to the 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 2nd Company, Engineer Platoon Bethe, and fought in the trenches between Torhout and Houthulst. On 31 July 1917 he was wounded by shell shrapnel in the left leg, right arm and neck, and after being medically evacuated from the field was repatriated to an army hospital in Germany where he spent the rest of the war recovering from his wounds, before being demobilized from the army.
How did Remarque die?
Remarque died of heart failure at the age of 72 in Locarno on 25 September 1970. His body was buried in the Ronco Cemetery in Ronco, Ticino, Switzerland. Paulette Goddard, Remarque's wife, died in 1990 and her body was interred next to her husband's. She left a bequest of US$20 million to New York University to fund an institute for European studies, which is named in honour of Remarque.
What was the first job that Remarque had?
His first paid writing job was as a technical writer for the Continental Rubber Company, a German tire manufacturer.
When did Remarque return to Switzerland?
Remarque in 1961. In 1948, Remarque returned to Switzerland, where he spent the remainder of his life. There was a gap of seven years – a long silence for Remarque – between Arch of Triumph and his next work, Spark of Life ( Der Funke Leben ), which appeared both in German and in English in 1952.
What was the book "All Quiet on the Western Front" about?
Remarque was at first unable to find a publisher for it. Its text described the experiences of German soldiers during World War I. On publication it became an international bestseller and a landmark work in twentieth-century literature. It inspired a new genre of veterans writing about conflict, and the commercial publication of a wide variety of war memoirs. It also inspired dramatic representations of the war in theatre and cinema, in Germany as well as in countries that had fought in the conflict against the German Empire, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States.
Why did Paul use Maria as his middle name?
In later years as a professional writer, he started using "Maria" as his middle name instead of "Paul," to commemorate his mother.
How many times was Remarque wounded?
He fought on the Western Front during World War I and was wounded no fewer than five times, the last time seriously.
Where did Remarque live?
Though he became a naturalized American citizen and was during the 1930s a frequent participant in New York City nightlife and a companion for several years in Hollywood of the actress Marlene Dietrich, Remarque lived for most of his later life at Porto Ronco, on the shore of Lake Maggiore in Switzerland.
Why was All Quiet on the Western Front so successful?
The smashing success of All Quiet on the Western Front was due in large part to its reflection of a widespread disillusionment with the war that took hold of many during the 1920s. Praised as a novel of unyielding realism, All Quiet on the Western Front described in stark detail the physical trauma of war. Remarque also articulated the numbing frustration and anger of the conscript soldier, sent into battle by government and military leaders for reasons of politics and power that he struggled to understand. In the words of his protagonist, Paul Baumer: "I see how peoples are set against one another and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one anotherI see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring."
Who said "I see how peoples are set against one another and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly,?
In the words of his protagonist, Paul Baumer : "I see how peoples are set against one another and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one anotherI see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring.".
Who was Erich Maria Remarque?
On June 22, 1898, German novelist Erich Maria Remarque was born. The German writer was best known for his pacifist novels, especially All Quiet on the Western Front ( Im Westen nichts Neues ), published in 1928.
What was the name of the book that Remarque wrote about the war?
In 1928, ten years after World War I, the writer published his most remarkable work ‘ All Quiet on the Western Front ‘, which was globally known after its movie-release by the American director Lewis Milestone in 1930. In the novel, in addition to his own experiences, he mainly processed the stories of wounded soldiers whom he had met in hospital, but also added fictitious episodes. The story characterizes the war from the perspective of ‘Paul Bäumler’ an ordinary soldier. It describes the terror of war, the cruel fights at the battle front and the misery the soldiers had to go through in the trenches. Also the war-effects on the psyche of the soldiers and the loss of their ideals are pictured in the novel.
Why was Remarque nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?
In 1931 Remarque was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work In the West Nothing New by the Polish professor Zygmund Cybichowski (1879 – 1944) and the American Nicholas Murray Butler (1862 – 1947) – also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The German Army Officers’ Union (DOB) protested against this nomination on the grounds that the novel denigrated the German army and its soldiers. In August 1931 Remarque had bought a villa on Lake Maggiore in Porto Ronco – near Ascona. Already in April of the following year he had moved his main residence to Switzerland. Not everyone on the globe shared the ‘ enthusiasm ‘ towards this novel. National Socialist thugs on behalf of the Gauleiter Joseph Goebbels prevented the German premiere of the Oscar-winning Hollywood anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front on December 4, 1930 in Berlin. Disruptive actions were reported from the entire territory of the Reich, so that the film was finally banned by the German Film Inspectorate on 11 December. In 1933, the Nazis burned ‘ All Quiet on the Western Front ‘ along with many other “subversive” literature. Moreover, the National Socialists spread the rumour that he was Jewish, that his real name was “Kramer” (the ananym of Remarque’s birth name “Remark”) and that he had not participated in the war at all.
Who did Remarque meet?
From 1939 Remarque lived officially in the USA where he met other German emigrants like Lion Feuchtwanger, Bertolt Brecht, Artjom Dmitriev and the actress and Nazi opponent Marlene Dietrich. Unlike many other emigrated writers he enjoyed a high recognition and fame here, which is among other things due to the fact that his works were partly published in English. In American exile he wrote a novel which was published in 1941 in London under the title Flotsam (“ Strandgut “) in English and in Stockholm under the title Liebe Deinen Nächsten ( Love Thy Neighbor) in German. During the 1930s, Remarque had relationships with Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr , [1] Dolores del Río and Marlene Dietrich. The affair with Dietrich began in September 1937 when they met on the Lido while in Venice for the film festival and continued through at least 1940, maintained mostly by way of letters, cables and telephone calls. A selection of their letters were published in 2003 in the book “ Sag Mir, Dass Du Mich Liebst ” (“ Tell Me That You Love Me “).
What was the movie about Hitler's final days?
In 1955, Remarque wrote the screenplay for an Austrian film, The Last Act ( Der letzte Akt ), about Hitler’s final days in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. In 1956, Remarque wrote a drama for the stage, Full Circle ( Die letzte Station ), which played in both Germany and on Broadway. Heaven Has No Favorites was serialised (as Borrowed Life) in 1959 before appearing as a book in 1961 and was made into the 1977 film Bobby Deerfield. The Night in Lisbon ( Die Nacht von Lissabon ), published in 1962, is the last work Remarque finished
How did Remarque die?
He was treated for minor shrapnel injuries and later died of a head wound from a shrapnel splinter while he was being carried to a medic.
What did Remarque do after his mother died?
After mustering out on a medical discharge in 1918, Remarque suffered postwar trauma and disillusionment, complicated by regret that his wounds ended his hopes for a career as a concert pianist, and by grief over his mother 's death. For a time, he posed illegally as a much-decorated first lieutenant, accompanied by Wolf, his shepherd dog. Occasionally, Remarque dressed extravagantly and wore a monocle. For the next ten years, he would cast about for a life's work, but for now he settled into a special veteran's seminary, where he chaired a student association that rebelled against the practice of treating war veterans like teenagers.
What was the last movie that Remarque acted in?
The last work filmed in his lifetime was United Artists' A Time to Love and a Time to Die , which was four years in the making. Filmed in 1968, it brought together a youthful John Gavin and Swiss starlet Lilo Pulver, plus Keenan Wynn, Don Defore, Jock Mahoney, and Remarque, who wrote part of the dialogue and played Professor Pohlmann, earning worthy reviews for his acting skills. The movie, although frequently compared to All Quiet and to Hemingway's successful The Sun Also Rises, failed to meet critical expectations.
What was the name of the book that Remarque wrote in 1928?
Within five weeks, Remarque, keeping alert on strong coffee and cigars, composed Im Westen nichts Neues (literally, In the West Nothing New ), which was serialized in the magazine Vossische Zeitung from November 10 to December 9, 1928, then appeared in novel form the next year in English as All Quiet on the Western Front. Although publishers were skeptical that the postwar reader was still interested in World War I, Remarque's pacifist bestseller sold a million and a half copies that same year and in time was translated into twenty-nine languages. His countrymen, who bought most of the first printing, raised a confusing barrage of enthusiasm and criticism, stating that Remarque simultaneously dramatized pacifism by overstating wartime dangers, enriched himself by glamorizing the German battlefield, and promoted communism. The German Officers League, on hearing talk of a Nobel Prize nomination for Remarque, challenged the Swedish committee's wisdom in considering the proposal. The strongest voices against Remarque belonged to the National Socialist party, an ultranationalist group, who accused him of deliberately creating an antihero to denigrate war and of degrading Germany by victimizing manufacturers and medical staff as incompetent and opportunistic. Refusing his critics the satisfaction of verbal confrontation, Remarque rejected interviews, labeling his work nonpolitical so as to allow readers to draw their own conclusions. However, Remarque had touched a nerve, and the themes and ideas of this first best-seller would echo through his writing for the rest of his life.
What was the theme of Remarque's Night in Lisbon?
The following year, he wrote Night in Lisbon, which centered around the theme of stateless emigrants and captured the rootlessness of many of his compatriots.
What was Remarque's first literary brotherhood?
In 1915, he and several other idealists formed a literary brotherhood around mentor Fritz Hörstemeier. The following year, his essay about young cadets, " From the Time of Youth," a poem titled "I and You," and a short story, "The Lady with the Golden Eyes," were printed in the Osnabruck newspaper.
When did Remarque end his marriage?
Long a seeker of affluence, he bought a Lancia convertible and dressed the part of the bon vivant. In 1930, he ended his formal marriage to Jeanne; the two remained together, however, and moved to Casa Remarque in Porto Ronco, on Switzerland's Lake Maggiore.
Overview
Erich Maria Remarque was a German novelist. His landmark novel Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front) (1928), about the German military experience of World War I, was an international best-seller which created a new literary genre, and was adapted into a film in 1930.
Early life
Remarque was born on 22 June 1898, as Erich Paul Remark, to Peter Franz Remark and Anna Maria (née Stallknecht), a working-class Roman Catholic family in Osnabrück. He was never close with his father, a bookbinder, but he was close with his mother and he began using the middle name Maria after World War I in her honor. Remarque was the third of four children of Peter and Anna. His siblings were his older sister Erna, older brother Theodor Arthur (who died at the age o…
Military service
During World War I, Remarque was conscripted into the Imperial German Army at the age of 18. On 12 June 1917, he was transferred to the Western Front, 2nd Company, Reserves, Field Depot of the 2nd Guards Reserve Division at Hem-Lenglet. On 26 June 1917 he was posted to the 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 2nd Company, Engineer Platoon Bethe, and fought in the trenches between Torhout and Houthulst. On 31 July 1917 he was wounded by shell shrapnel in the left leg, right ar…
Writing career
Remarque had made his first attempts at writing at the age of 16. Among them were essays, poems, and the beginnings of a novel that was finished later and published in 1920 as The Dream Room (Die Traumbude). Between 1923 and 1926 he also scripted a comic series, Der Contibuben, drawn by Hermann Schütz, published in the magazine Echo Continental, a publication by the rubbe…
Later years
In 1948, Remarque returned to Switzerland, where he spent the remainder of his life. There was a gap of seven years – a long silence for Remarque – between Arch of Triumph and his next work, Spark of Life (Der Funke Leben), which appeared both in German and in English in 1952. While he was writing The Spark of Life he was also working on a novel Zeit zu leben und Zeit zu sterben (Time …
Personal life
Remarque's first marriage was to the actress Ilse Jutta Zambona in 1925. The marriage was stormy and unfaithful on both sides. Remarque and Zambona divorced in 1930, but in 1933 they fled together to Switzerland. In 1938, they remarried, to prevent her from being forced to return to Germany, and in 1939 they emigrated to the United States, where they both became naturalized citize…
Death
Remarque died of heart failure at the age of 72 in Locarno on 25 September 1970. His body was buried in the Ronco Cemetery in Ronco, Ticino, Switzerland. Paulette Goddard, Remarque's wife, died in 1990, and her body was interred next to her husband's. She left a bequest of US$20 million to New York University to fund an institute for European studies, which is named in honour of Remarque, as well as funding "Goddard Hall" on the Greenwich Village campus in New York City.
Legacy
The first director of The Remarque Institute was Professor Tony Judt. Remarque's papers are housed at NYU's Fales Library.
In November 2010, efforts to raise 6.2 million Swiss francs (US$7M), to buy and save the villa of Erich Maria Remarque and Paulette Goddard from almost certain demolition were underway. The intent was to transform the "Casa Mon…