Biography
early years
Erich Paul Remarque was the second child in the family of bookbinder Peter Franz Remarque (-) and Anna Maria Remarque, née Stahlknecht (-). His older brother Theodore Arthur (1896-1901) died at the age of five; Erich Paul also had sisters Erna (1900-1978) and Elfriede (1903-1943).
In his youth, Remarque was interested in the works of Stefan Zweig, Thomas Mann, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Marcel Proust and Johann Wolfgang Goethe. In 1904 he entered a church school. After graduating from public school in 1912, Erich Paul Remarque entered the Catholic Teachers' Seminary to become a teacher, and already in 1915 he continued his studies at the Royal Seminary of Osnabrück, where he met Fritz Hörstemeier, who inspired the future writer to literary activity. At this time, Remarque became a member of the literary society "Circle of Dreams", headed by a local poet.
At the front
At the end of the same year, the novel “Return” was published. The last two anti-war novels, a number of short stories and a film adaptation did not go unnoticed by Hitler, who spoke of Remarque as “the French Jew Kramer.” The writer himself later answered: “I was neither a Jew nor a leftist. I was a militant pacifist."
The literary idols of their youth - Thomas Mann and Stefan Zweig - also did not approve new book. Many received the novel and the film with hostility. They even said that the manuscript was stolen by Remarque from a deceased comrade. With the rise of Nazism in the country, the writer was increasingly called a traitor to the people and a corrupt scribbler. Experiencing constant attacks, Remarque drank a lot, but the success of his books and films gave him wealth and the opportunity to lead a prosperous life.
There is a legend that the Nazis declared: Remarque is a descendant of French Jews and his real name is Kramer(the word “Remarque” is backwards). This “fact” is still cited in some biographies, despite the complete lack of any evidence to support it. According to data obtained from the Writer's Museum in Osnabrück, Remarque's German origin and Catholic religion were never in doubt. The propaganda campaign against the writer was based on his changing the spelling of his last name from Remark on Remarque. This fact has been used to make statements: a person who changes German spelling to French cannot be a real German. [ ]
The younger of his two sisters, Elfriede, married to Scholz, who remained in Germany, was arrested in 1943 for anti-war and anti-Hitler statements. At her trial she was found guilty and was guillotined on December 30, 1943. Her elder sister Erna Remarque was sent an invoice to pay for Elfrida's detention in prison, the trial and the execution itself, in the amount of 495 marks and 80 pfennigs, which was required to be transferred to the appropriate account within a week. There is evidence that the judge told her: “ Your brother, unfortunately, escaped from us, but you cannot escape" Remarque learned about the death of his sister only after the war and dedicated his novel “Spark of Life”, published in 1952, to her. 25 years later, a street in her hometown of Osnabrück was named after Remarque’s sister.
Erich Maria Remarque died on September 25, 1970, at the age of 73, from an aortic aneurysm. The writer is buried in the Ronco cemetery in the canton of Ticino. Paulette Goddard, who died twenty years later, on April 23, 1990, is buried next to him.
Remarque bequeathed 50,000 dollars each to Ilsa Jutta, his sister, as well as the housekeeper who took care of him for many years in Ascona.
Remarque belongs to the writers of the “lost generation”. This is a group of “angry young men” who went through the horrors of the First World War (and saw the post-war world not at all as it was seen from the trenches) and wrote their first books, which shocked the Western public. Such writers, along with Remarque, included Richard Aldington, John Dos Passos, Ernest Hemingway, Francis Scott Fitzgerald.
Selected bibliography
Novels- Shelter of Dreams (translation option - “Attic of Dreams”) (German: Die Traumbude) ()
- Gam (German: Gam) () (published posthumously in)
- Station on the horizon (German: Station am Horizont) ()
- All Quiet on the Western Front (German: Im Westen nichts Neues) ()
- Return (German: Der Weg zurück) ()
- Three comrades (German: Drei Kameraden) ()
- Love your neighbor (German: Liebe Deinen Nächsten) ()
- Arc de Triomphe (French: Arc de Triomphe) ()
- Spark of Life (German: Der Funke Leben) ()
- A time to live and a time to die (German) Zeit zu leben und Zeit zu sterben) ()
- Black Obelisk (German: Der schwarze Obelisk) ()
- Life on loan ():
- German Geborgtes Leben - magazine version;
- German Der Himmel kennt keine Günstlinge(“There are no chosen ones for heaven”) - full version
- Night in Lisbon (German: Die Nacht von Lisbon) ()
- Shadows in Paradise (German: Schatten im Paradies) (published posthumously in 1971. This is an abridged and revised version of the novel “The Promised Land” by Droemer Knaur.)
- The Promised Land (German: Das gelobte Land) (published posthumously in 1998. The novel remained unfinished.)
Collection “Anneta’s Love Story” (German: Ein militant Pazifist):
- The Enemy (German: Der Feind) (1930-1931)
- Silence around Verdun (German: Schweigen um Verdun) (1930)
- Karl Breger in Fleury (German: Karl Broeger in Fleury) (1930)
- Josef's Wife (German: Josefs Frau) (1931)
- Annette's love story (German) Die Geschichte von Annettes Liebe) (1931)
- The strange fate of Johann Bartok (German) Das seltsame Schicksal des Johann Bartok) (1931)
- The Last Stop (1953), play
- The Return of Enoch J. Jones (1953), play
- Last act (German: Der letzte Akt) (), play
- The Last Stop (German: Die letzte Station) (), film script
- Be carefull!! (German: Seid wachsam!!) ()
- Episodes at the Desk (German: Das unbekannte Werk) ()
- Tell me that you love me... (German. Sag mir, dass du mich liebst...) ()
Translations into Russian
Memory
The “Ring of Erich Maria Remarque” was established in Osnabrück.
Publications about Remarque
The future writer was born into a family of bookbinders, so early childhood he had access to any works. When the boy grew up, he began to dream of a career as a teacher, but 1916 made its own adjustments: Remarque became a soldier. In 1917, he was seriously wounded and remained in the hospital until the end of the war. In 1918, the writer learned of his mother’s death and, in memory of her, changed his middle name Paul to Maria.
Ilsa Jutta Zambona is the first wife of the writer Erich Maria Remarque.
After the end of the First World War, Remarque tries to return to ordinary life, working either as a teacher, or as a tombstone seller, or as a magazine editor. Later it literary heroes will get characters real people which the writer happened to encounter. Remarque's first wife, Ilsa Jutta Zambona, became the prototype of Pat, the beloved of the protagonist from the novel “Three Comrades.”
The real relationship between Erich Maria and his wife was not easy. After four years of marriage, there was a divorce, then marriage again (the only way Ilse could leave Germany), and then divorce again.
The novel All Quiet on the Western Front brought Remarque worldwide recognition. The author wrote it literally in one go - in just 6 weeks. In Germany alone, in one year (1929), the book sold 1.5 million copies. The novel described all the horrors and cruelty of war through the eyes of a 20-year-old soldier. In 1933, the Nazis who came to power decided that a representative of the German race could not have a decadent mood, they declared Remarque a “traitor to the motherland,” deprived him of German citizenship and staged a demonstrative burning of his book.
Erich Maria Remarque and Marlene Dietrich.
Real persecution began against Erich Maria Remarque. The Nazis declared him to be a descendant of French Jews. It’s as if he deliberately changed the last name “Kramer” and wrote it backwards - “Remarque”. And the author just changed the spelling of his last name to French manner(Remarque). The writer left Germany in a hurry and settled in Switzerland. For this, the Nazis took it out on his sister. In 1943, Elvira Scholz was detained for anti-Hitler statements. At the trial, the woman was quipped: “Your brother, unfortunately, escaped from us, but you can’t escape.” Remarque's sister was executed by guillotine.
While in Switzerland, Erich Maria Remarque met Marlene Dietrich. It was a passionate, but at the same time painful romance. The flighty beauty, now moving away, now bringing the writer closer to her. In 1939, they went to Hollywood together.
Erich Maria Remarque and Paulette Godard.
In America, Erich Maria Remarque continues to create new works; film studios are filming his five novels. It would seem that what else is needed for happiness... but the writer becomes depressed. He was brought out of this state new love– Paulette Godard. Remarque called it salvation. Oddly enough, the three main women in his life were of the same type: big eyes, chiseled figures, soulful gaze.
Erich Maria Remarque and his women.
In 1967, the German ambassador to Switzerland solemnly presented Remarque with the Order of the Federal Republic of Germany. But the irony is that after the awards were awarded, the writer’s German citizenship was never returned. Erich Maria Remarque died on September 25, 1970 at the age of 72. Marlene Dietrich sent flowers to the writer's funeral, but Paulette Godard did not accept them, remembering how painful Remarque's affair with Marlene Dietrich was.
Erich Maria Remarque is one of the most famous German writers. Mostly he wrote novels of the war and post-war years. In total, he wrote 15 novels, two of them were published posthumously. Quotes by Erich Remarque are widely known and attract with their accuracy and simplicity.
After reading the biography of Erich Maria Remarque, you will be able to compose own opinion about the life and work of this wonderful author.
Childhood and early years
The future writer was born on June 22, 1898 in the city of Osnabrück (Germany). Erich's father worked as a bookbinder. Of course, thanks to this, there were always enough books in their house, and young Erich became interested in literature from early childhood.
Already as a child, Erich enthusiastically read books by Stefan Zweig, Thomas Mann, Fyodor Dostoevsky (read the biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky). It is these authors who in the future will play a vital role in the biography of Erich Maria Remarque. When Erich was 6 years old, he went to school. Already at such a young age at school he received the nickname “dirty”, as he loved to write a lot. After completing his studies there, he entered the Catholic Teachers' Seminary. There he spent three years (1912-1915), and then entered the royal seminary. It was there that he first met the poet and philosopher Fritz Hörstemeier. Erich Remarque became a member of Fritz's community, which was called the “Shelter of Dreams”. There he debated, discussed artistic views, difficulties arising in society and in life in general. It was Fritz Hörstemeier who inspired Remarque to seriously think about making literature the main calling in his life.
Years of the First World War
Military service also in the biography of Erich Maria Remarque has great importance. At the age of 22, he was called up to serve in the army. Almost immediately he was sent to the Western Front, but a year later he was seriously wounded. He spent the rest of the war years treated in a military hospital. Having not yet completed his treatment, he was assigned to work in the office. That same year, Remarque experienced a great loss. His mother (Anna-Marie Remarque), with whom he had a very good, warm relationship, died of cancer. This was the reason that he changed his middle name to Maria. The next year again dealt a strong blow to Remarque. His best friend and mentor of sorts, Fritz Hörstermeier, died.
After Remarque recovered from his wounds received in 1917, he was assigned to an infantry regiment, where a few weeks later he was awarded the Cross 1st class. In 1919, Remarque unexpectedly refused the award due to him and resigned from the army.
The three years (1916-1919) that Remarque spent in the army greatly influenced his worldview. Then his point of view on war, friendship, love was really formed. It was this perception that was reflected in his future novels. He wrote a lot about the senselessness of war and the imprint it leaves on people.
Literary activity and personal life
Remarque published his first novel at the age of 22. It was called "Attic of Dreams". Even then, quotes from Erich Remarque were a success. And this book is strikingly different from Remarque’s other works. In it young writer describes his idea of love. The book received mostly negative reviews from critics, but in fact it occupied an important place in the biography of Erich Remarque. It is surprising that later Remarque was even ashamed of his first book and tried to buy up all the remnants of its circulation.
At that time, literary activity did not bring income to the writer, and he very often worked somewhere. During this time, he managed to work as a seller of grave monuments, and also played the organ for money in a chapel at a medical institution for the mentally ill. It was these two works that formed the basis of the novel “Black Obelisk.”
Notes and quotes from Erich Remarque began to be published in various magazines, and Remarque even got a job as an editor in one of them. There he first published one of his notes under the pseudonym Erich Maria Remarque, instead of the correct German spelling "Remark". In 1925, Remarque got married. His chosen one was Ilsa Jutta Zambone, who was a dancer. His wife suffered from tuberculosis for many years. It was she who later became the prototype of the heroine Pat from the novel “Three Comrades.” In those years, Remarque tried to hide his low origins. He began to lead a luxurious life - he dined in the most expensive restaurants, attended theatrical performances, bought stylish clothes, communicated with famous racing drivers. In 1926, he even bought himself the title of nobleman. In 1927, his second novel, “Station on the Horizon,” was published, and two years later, a novel was published that gained enormous popularity even then, “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Later it became one of the three novels of the “lost generation”. An interesting note is that Remarque partially wrote this novel in the house of a familiar actress, Leni Riefenstahl. Who would have imagined then that just a few years later they would be on opposite sides of the barricades. Remarque will become a banned writer, and his numerous books will be burned in public squares in Germany, and Leni will be a director, zealously glorifying fascism.
They lived together with Jutta for only four years. In 1929, their divorce was announced. But it is worth noting that their relationship did not end there. Jutta runs like a thin thread through Remarque’s entire life. In 1938, to help Jutta leave Nazi Germany, Remarque married her again. This played a big role, and she managed to move to Switzerland. Subsequently, they moved to the USA together again. Surprisingly, only after 19 years they dissolved their fictitious marriage. But even this did not end their relationship. Until the end of his life, Remarque paid her an allowance, and after his death he bequeathed a large sum of money.
A year after the book All Quiet on the Western Front appeared, a film was made based on it. The film was a great success, as was the book. The profit from this helped Remarque accumulate a good fortune. A year later, for writing this novel, he was honored to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Moving to Switzerland and later life
In 1932, when Remarque was working on writing the novel “Three Comrades,” he began to have problems with the authorities. He was forced to move to live in Switzerland. A year later, his books were publicly burned in his homeland. Remarque was accused of being an Entente intelligence officer. There are opinions that Hitler called the writer “the French Jew Kramer” (reverse to the name Remarque). Despite the fact that some claim this as a fact, there is no documentary evidence of it. But the entire German campaign against Remarque was based on the fact that Remarque changed the spelling of his last name from Remark to Remarque. The Germans argued that a person who changed the spelling of his surname to the French style could not be a real Aryan.
In 1936, Remarque finished writing the novel “Three Comrades,” which lasted four whole years. The novel describes the life of three young friends after returning from the front. Despite the death that permeates them, the novel describes the lust for life and what the main characters are willing to do for the sake of true friendship. The very next year a film was made based on the book. A short review of "Three Comrades"
Erich Maria Remarque (born Erich Paul Remarque) is one of the most famous German writers of the twentieth century, a representative of the lost generation. The writer's creativity was based on the collapse accepted by society standards, he wanted to change the entire European world. During his life, he managed to write many novels, but Remarque’s very first book, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” remains the standard.
Reading Remarque's books is a pleasure. Of course, dramatic novels will appeal more to women and girls, but this is just an assumption. To be completely sure, we suggest you check it yourself. Moreover, we have for you a small list of popular books by Remarque that were also mentioned in the article. The most popular books by Remarque on our website:
Brief biography of Remarque
Remarque was born in Germany at the intersection of two centuries in 1898. His family were Catholics, his father worked as a bookbinder. He graduated from a church school and then studied at a Catholic teachers' seminary.
Since 1916, he fought in the militia of the German army; due to injuries received in 1917, he spent the rest of the war in various hospitals. In 1925, he married former dancer Ilse Jutte, who had been suffering from consumption for many years. She became the prototype for some of the main heroines of Remarque’s books. The couple's life together lasted four years, after which they divorced. However, the divorce officially took place only in 1957. Author before last days helped Yutta financially, and upon death bequeathed 50 thousand dollars.
In 1929, his first work was published under a new name. The name Maria was chosen by the writer in memory of his beloved mother. The Nazis did not like Remarque's arguments on the topic of war and in 1933 they burned the books, justifying themselves by saying that Remarque was a descendant of Jews, which has still not found any documentary evidence.
Remarque managed to avoid a terrible reprisal, since at that time he lived in Switzerland. However, his older sister did not manage to escape punishment; Elfriede Scholz was executed in 1943.
In 1937, Remarque and Marlene Dietrich began an eccentric and stormy romance; the author dedicated the book “Arc de Triomphe” to this relationship. From the beginning of the war, the writer sailed to the USA, and in 1947 he became a true American. There he met Charlie Chaplin's ex-wife, who helped him recover from depression. In 1957 he returned back to Switzerland, where he lived the rest of his days. The writer died in 1970.
Life on loan. Life when you don’t regret anything, because, in essence, there is nothing left to lose. This is love on the verge of doom. This is luxury on the verge of ruin. This is fun on the verge of grief and risk on the verge of death. There is no future. Death is not a word, but a reality. Life goes on. Life is Beautiful!..
The most beautiful love story of the 20th century...
The most fascinating novel about friendship in the 20th century...
The most tragic and poignant novel about human relationships in the entire history of the 20th century.
What remains for people who are choking in the fiery whirlpool of war? What remains for people who have been robbed of hope, love - and, in fact, even life itself?
What remains for people who simply have nothing left? Just a spark of life. Weak, but unquenchable. The spark of life that gives people the strength to smile at the threshold of death. A spark of light in pitch darkness...
The heroes of the novel by the famous German writer E.M. Remarque still lives with the soul-stirring memories that shocked the soldiers in the trenches of the Western Front of the First World War.
Annotation:
Three comrades - a book about true friendship, about men's entertainment, about love and about the simple life of ordinary people in an ordinary small town in post-war Germany. Friends who survived during the war stand by each other like a mountain in peacetime. And when one of them falls in love, the beloved girl becomes not a stumbling block, but another comrade.
Note:
Remarque worked on the novel “Three Comrades” for almost four years. In 1933, the book “Pat” was published - the first step towards a grandiose novel. At that time, in Germany, Remarque’s books were already blacklisted; they were demonstrably burned in public squares. The writer was depressed by everything happening in Germany in particular and in the world in general. He lived in his villa in Switzerland, drank, got sick, and met with German emigrants. When work on the novel was nearing completion, Remarque received an offer from the German government to return to his homeland. Erich Maria refuses to make peace with the Nazis and goes to Paris for a congress of writers in exile. The novel was published in 1936 in Denmark, in Danish, then published in the USA in English language- in magazine version. And only in 1938 the book “Three Comrades” was published in Amsterdam, published in German.
The novel “Arc de Triomphe” was written by the famous German writer E.M. Remarque (1898-1970). The author talks about tragic fate a talented German surgeon who fled Nazi Germany from Nazi persecution. Remarque analyzes the complex spiritual world of the hero with great skill. In this novel, the theme of the fight against fascism sounds with great force, but this is a lone struggle, not an organized political movement.
Erich Paul Remarque was born on a hot day on June 22, 1898, in the city of Osnabrück, at that time part of the Kingdom of Prussia. He inherited the French surname Remarque from his great-grandfather, a native Frenchman who married a German woman. The father of the future writer, Peter Franz, also married the German beauty Anna-Maria Stahlknecht, who was 4 years younger than him. The father of the family made his living by binding books, of which there were a huge number in the house. From his youth, Erich Paul was inspired by the works of greatest writers such as Dostoevsky, Goethe, Mann and others.
There were five children in the Remarque family, Erich Paul was the second oldest. In 1901, a misfortune happened: the eldest, Theodore Arthur, who had been in poor health since birth, died.
The boy had a difficult relationship with his father, while his mother devoted most of her free time to the sickly Theodore, and later to the newborn children. Erich Paul most often spent his time surrounded by books.
Military training and service
Erich went to school at the age of 6. After studying for 4 years at a public school, in 1908 he moved to a school in Johannischul, after which he continued his studies. He wanted to become a teacher, and therefore chose to first go to the Catholic seminary (1912-1915), and then the royal one. While studying at the latter, Remarque finally fell in love with literary activity. He made many friends and acquaintances, among whom were Fritz Hörstemeier, Erica Hause, Bernhard Nobbe and others.
In June 1916, the world saw Remarque's first small publication, and at the end of November of the same year, the young man was called up for military service. While serving on the Western Front, where he was sent in June 1917, he received three serious wounds: an exploding shell hit his arm, leg, and - worst of all - his neck. Remarque's treatment and recovery took place in the hospitals of Torhout and Duisburg. He never returned to the front - even before his discharge, the young man was transferred to the office.
This period was quite difficult in Remarque's life. Having barely begun to recover from severe wounds, he lost his mother, who died of cancer (September, 1917), and in early March 1918, he also lost his close friend, Fritz Hörstermeyer. Erich, who had the most tender feelings for his mother, could not come to terms with the loss for a long time, and therefore almost immediately after her death he changed his middle name to the middle name of his parent.
At the end of October, Remarque finally got back on his feet - he was discharged from the hospital and transferred to his native Osnabrück, where the council of workers and soldiers of the city decided to award him the Iron Cross, First Class. However, Erich - now Maria - refused the reward. Moreover, he left the army and returned to the seminary, deciding to finish what he started.
Teaching activity and first steps in literature
In 1919, Erich Maria Remarque, having received the coveted teaching qualification, took his first job as a teacher. In 1920, the writer’s first novel, “Attic of Dreams” (“Shelter of Dreams”), was presented to the general public. The creation was written by him in his father’s house, where the young man set up an office for himself, in which he devoted himself entirely to creativity: he wrote, played music, and drew. The novel was published by one of the Dresden publishing houses, and Remarque himself, who was ashamed of this creation for unknown reasons, even tried to buy up the remainder of the circulation.
As for her teaching career, it was relatively short-lived. Remarque often changed jobs, the management openly disliked him, and he himself did not feel needed in all this. However, it was necessary to live for something, and before coming to writing, Erich Maria tried himself as a tombstone dealer, piano teacher, accountant and more. But everything was wrong!
Journalism
Around March 1921, Remarque began to try his luck in the journalistic field. The first publications in which he acted as a theater critic were the publications “Osnabrücker Landeszeitung” and “Osnabrücker Tageblatt”, at the same time he began to collaborate with the publication “Echo Continental”, where he first used the pseudonym Erich Maria Remarque, written in French. In April 1922, the writer moved to Hanover, where he easily joined bohemian society: women, alcohol, social events - all this became an integral part of his life. At the same time, the writer began active work on the novel “Gam”, while at the same time heading the editorial office of “Echo Continental”.
In 1924, Remarque met the daughter of an influential person in the publishing world. A girl named Edith was the heiress of Kurt Dierry, the founder and owner of the rather popular publication “Sports in Illustrations”. The relationship with the young lady did not last long - the girl’s parents were against their marriage, but to become the editor of her father’s publication young man still succeeded. A few years later, in the middle of the 28th, Remarque became “at the helm” of the publication - now he was personally responsible for all publications that appeared on printed pages. At the same time, he received several refusals from publishers who did not want to publish All Quiet on the Western Front, who openly said that hardly anyone would want to read about the German war. Luck nevertheless smiled on him in the person of the head of the Ulstein publishing house. However, a condition was immediately set: if the novel “fails,” the author will have to pay all the costs.
However, everyone was worried in vain - the novel became a real sensation. Released initially in a newspaper version (1928), and later in a book version (1929), it sold a record number of one and a half million copies in just a year! In the same year, on the initiative of Bjornsjern Bjorns, Erich Maria Remarque was nominated for the Nobel Prize. In total, the novel was published 43 times, translated into 36 languages, and in 1935 it was filmed.
From that time on, Remarque's name was heard, and not always in a positive way. Hitler himself called the writer a “French Jew,” and the Berlin Supervisory Film Commission banned his story “The Enemy.” In 1931, Remarque was again nominated as a candidate for Nobel Prize peace. This time the protest was expressed by the League of German Officers.
In 1931, the novel “The Return,” previously published in a newspaper version, was presented in Berlin.
Emigration
In 1932, Remarque fell out of favor with the German authorities, who confiscated the writer's bank savings in the amount of 20 thousand Reichsmarks. He moves to Porto Ronco, and meanwhile the proceedings in his case continue. The result is a fine “for illegal currency transactions” in the amount of 30 thousand Reichsmarks, which he pays. Remarque is actively working on the novel “Pat” (Three Comrades), and in Germany his books are already listed as banned. He is depressed and depressed: he drinks a lot, does not communicate with anyone. The choice of Hitler by the German people completely depresses them.
Later, in 1935, Remarque received an offer from the German government to return to his homeland, which he refused without hesitation.
In 1939, the writer left for the USA, where after 8 years he received citizenship. Remarque returned to his second homeland - Switzerland - only in 1958. Here he lives until the end of his days.
Personal life
The writer's first and only official wife was Ilse Jutta (Jeanne) Zambona, whom they married in 1925. The girl became the prototype for some of Remarque's characters. The family idyll lasted a little more than 4 years - the couple, who constantly cheated on each other, divorced in 1930. But this did not stop Erich from taking with him ex-wife while moving to Switzerland.
However, the fateful meeting was just ahead of the writer. In 1936, on the Venetian coast, he meets Marlene Dietrich, and passion instantly flares up between the young people. Even remarriage to Ilse Jutta does not interfere with the development of their relationship. Dietrich contributed greatly to Remarque’s move to the United States, including obtaining a visa. The writer is popular in the States, especially among women, which brings the moment of separation between him and Marlene closer.
The writer's last love was another actress, this time Paulette Godard. He met her already at a respectable age - at 53 years old, and for the sake of marriage with the beauty he even finally divorced Jutta, not stinting on huge financial compensation. Paulette was next to Remarque until his last breath, until the writer’s heart stopped in 1970.
- In 1967, after the persecution of the writer was over, the German ambassador to Switzerland awarded Remarque the Order of the Federal Republic of Germany, but the citizenship, which he had previously been deprived of, was never returned.
- The writer also tried himself as an actor - he played a small role in the film “A Time to Love and a Time to Die,” which was an adaptation of his own novel “A Time to Live and a Time to Die.”
- Marlene Dietrich sent a beautiful bouquet of roses to the writer's funeral, but Paulette refused to accept them and place them on the coffin - the feelings of both women were too strong even after Remarque's death.
- There is a version that Hitler and Remarque met during the war, and perhaps even knew each other. The basis for such judgments is a photo of young Adolf surrounded by two other guys in military uniform. One of them looks like Remarque. There is no more reliable evidence.
- It is believed that it was Dietrich who served as the inspiration for the image of Joan Madu, the heroine of the Arc de Triomphe.