All Quiet on the Western Front

About the Author

Erich Maria Remarque

Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) was a German novelist whose experiences as a soldier in World War I profoundly shaped his literary work and worldview. Born Erich Paul Remark in Osnabrück, Germany, to a working-class family, he was drafted into the German army at age 18 and sent to the Western Front, where he was wounded several times by shrapnel. After the war, he worked various jobs including as a teacher, journalist, and editor while developing his writing. His breakthrough came with 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (1929), which sold over a million copies in its first year and was translated into more than twenty languages. The novel's unflinching portrayal of war's horrors and its clear anti-militaristic stance made Remarque a target of Nazi hostility. When they came to power in 1933, his books were banned and publicly burned, and he was stripped of his German citizenship. Remarque fled to Switzerland and later emigrated to the United States in 1939. The Nazis took their vengeance further by arresting his sister Elfriede Scholz, who was beheaded in 1943 after a show trial where the judge reportedly said, 'Your brother has unfortunately escaped us—you, however, will not escape us.' In exile, Remarque continued to write novels, many dealing with the experiences of German exiles and the aftermath of both world wars, including 'Arch of Triumph' (1945), 'Spark of Life' (1952), and 'Time to Live and Time to Die' (1954). He became a naturalized American citizen in 1947 and later divided his time between the United States and Switzerland. In his personal life, Remarque was known for his relationships with several actresses, including Marlene Dietrich, and his marriage to former Hollywood star Paulette Goddard. He died in Locarno, Switzerland, in 1970, leaving behind a literary legacy that powerfully communicates the human cost of war and the struggle for dignity in times of political oppression.