Erich Maria Remarque

Erich Maria Remarque was born in Osnabruck, Germany, in 1898. He was called up to the German Army in 1916 and was wounded while carrying an injured soldier out of the action.

After the First World War Remarque became a teacher and in 1929, his novel about his war experiences, All Quiet on the Western Front, was published in Germany. Remarque's book was attacked by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels and after the Nazi Party gained power in 1931 Remarque decided to move to Switzerland where he finished The Road Back. The book, about a group of ex-soldiers trying to live in defeated Germany, was also criticised and in 1933 All Quiet on the Western Front and The Road Back were both banned and destroyed by the Nazis.

On the outbreak of the Second World War, Remarque emigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen. Other books by Remarque include Flotsam (1941), Arch of Triumph (1946), The Black Obelisk (1957) and The Night in Lisbon (1962). Erich Maria Remarque died in 1970.