ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Erich Maria Remarque  Remarque was born in Osnabrück, Germany, in 1898 into a lower-middle-class family  In 1916, he was drafted into the German army to fight in World War I. In the war, he was badly wounded.  Ten years after the war ended, he published Im Westen Nichts Neues. A year later, the novel was translated into English, All Quiet on the Western Front. The novel shows the experiences of ordinary German soldiers during the war.

Why did Remarque write the novel?  He wanted to move away from the romantic image of war and show the violence and brutality of the event.  The book sends a Strong antiwar message

Summary of German Losses in WWI  11,000,000 soldiers mobilized  1,773,700 soldiers died.  4,216,058 soldiers wounded.  1,152,800 soldiers missing or POWs

Nazi Reaction to Remarque’s Novel  When the fiercely nationalistic Nazi regime began to gain power, they called Remarque unpatriotic.  Remarge published a sequal to AQWF entitled, The Road Back.  This novel provoked Nazis even more and Remarque moved to Switzerland.  Nazis held bonfires to burn his books.

Legacy of Remarque’s Novel  One of the most influential antiwar works  Even though it deals with German soldiers, the most hated soldiers of British and Americans, all soldiers were able to relate to the experiences that Remarque describes.