Erich Maria Remarque
A poor German soldier turned american celebrity
By Maximo Moyer
Erich Maria Remarque was born on June 22, 1898 in Osnabruck. His father was a lowly bookbinder, as a result the family was very poor. Because of their lack of income the family moved 8-11 times during Erich's childhood. Among all this uprooting he began to write at age 16. At age eighteen he enrolled at the University of Munster, where yet again his life took a turn, when he was drafted into the German army to fight in World War I.
Later life
As a result of being blacklisted In the 1947's Remarque became a legal citizen of the United States, where he was beloved. His books were admired in America for giving the American people a means to see a war from the opposing side and for being stark good stories. In America he became increasingly productive. Flotsam and Arc de Triomphe (which returned him to the best seller list) were his two most popular books from his time in the U.S. Aside from writing Erich transformed into quite the celebrity. When he was not in hollywood spending time with actress Marlene Dietrich he was a regular in New York night life.
Toward the end of his life he lived in Switzerland on the shore of Lake Maggiore, at Porto Ronco where he died with his wife, actress Paulette Goddard, by his side.
Erich Maria Remarque was born on June 22, 1898 in Osnabruck. His father was a lowly bookbinder, as a result the family was very poor. Because of their lack of income the family moved 8-11 times during Erich's childhood. Among all this uprooting he began to write at age 16. At age eighteen he enrolled at the University of Munster, where yet again his life took a turn, when he was drafted into the German army to fight in World War I.
Remarque was drafted because Germany had just begun to militarily support Austria-Hungary. Remarque was assigned a position on western front where he was wounded once seriously and upwards of four other times. After the fighting Remarque wrote his first novel whilst recovering from wounds suffered during his time on the front. It was called Die Traumbude ( The Dream Room ) and was published in1920.
http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-hitlere.html
-comparison of Hitler and Erich's lives and how it was to fight on the same front at the same time
After the war Erich lacked direction in life. He bounced around doing various jobs such as teaching, stonecutting race-car driving, and sports journalism. Altough seemingly devoid of focus, during this time he was writing Im Westen Nichts Neues. In one year the book sold 1.2 million copies and was translated in 12 languages. The English Translation "All Quiet on the Western Front" was wildly popular and it experienced similar success. In fact, the book was so popular it was transcribed into a Hollywood film in 1930.
The book was so popular because of Remarque's ability to portray the brutal physical trauma experienced in the war, as well his frustration about the German government for sending its own unwilling people into a war they did not believe in. This ideology is represented throughout the book in quotes such as "I see how peoples are set against one another and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. I see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring." These two aspects of the novel encapsulated the unrest of the German populous regarding the war and were the driving forces behind its popularity. Another reason the book was revered in Germany is its unconventional style of writing. Similar to Arnold Zweig's Sergeant Grischa the book was written in a brunt, report like style that the Germans and the rest of the world adored. This book was so anti-government that the Nazi's band it during their reign for being "prejudicial to German national prestige".
Remarque, becoming aware of the effects of hie newly found style of writing, went on to write nine more books. Many such as Der Weg zurück (1931; The Road Back). Drei Kameraden (1937; Three Comrades) condemned the German government while illustrating the futile destruction of the war. In The Night in Lisbon, his last novel written in Germany, he refutes Hitler's genocide of the Jewish people and his ridiculous assumption that the Aryans are the master race. These three books, supporting pacifism and exuding sadness surrounding the state of Germany, caused Remarque to be stripped of his citizenship in 1938.http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/exhibits/remarque/documents/intro.html
http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-hitlere.html
-comparison of Hitler and Erich's lives and how it was to fight on the same front at the same time
After the war Erich lacked direction in life. He bounced around doing various jobs such as teaching, stonecutting race-car driving, and sports journalism. Altough seemingly devoid of focus, during this time he was writing Im Westen Nichts Neues. In one year the book sold 1.2 million copies and was translated in 12 languages. The English Translation "All Quiet on the Western Front" was wildly popular and it experienced similar success. In fact, the book was so popular it was transcribed into a Hollywood film in 1930.
The book was so popular because of Remarque's ability to portray the brutal physical trauma experienced in the war, as well his frustration about the German government for sending its own unwilling people into a war they did not believe in. This ideology is represented throughout the book in quotes such as "I see how peoples are set against one another and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. I see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring." These two aspects of the novel encapsulated the unrest of the German populous regarding the war and were the driving forces behind its popularity. Another reason the book was revered in Germany is its unconventional style of writing. Similar to Arnold Zweig's Sergeant Grischa the book was written in a brunt, report like style that the Germans and the rest of the world adored. This book was so anti-government that the Nazi's band it during their reign for being "prejudicial to German national prestige".
-website about a collection of original diaries, manuscripts, letters, photographs, documents, and personal effects along with some Erich's view regarding his self image.
-Famous quotes of Remarque
Later life
As a result of being blacklisted In the 1947's Remarque became a legal citizen of the United States, where he was beloved. His books were admired in America for giving the American people a means to see a war from the opposing side and for being stark good stories. In America he became increasingly productive. Flotsam and Arc de Triomphe (which returned him to the best seller list) were his two most popular books from his time in the U.S. Aside from writing Erich transformed into quite the celebrity. When he was not in hollywood spending time with actress Marlene Dietrich he was a regular in New York night life.
Toward the end of his life he lived in Switzerland on the shore of Lake Maggiore, at Porto Ronco where he died with his wife, actress Paulette Goddard, by his side.
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| Paulette Goddard |
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