''The Road Back'', also translated as ''The Way Back'', () is a novel by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

author

Erich Maria Remarque Erich Maria Remarque (; ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German novelist. His landmark novel '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during World War ...

, commonly regarded as a sequel to his 1929 novel ''

All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' () is a semi-autobiographical novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma during the war as well as the detachme ...

''. It was first serialized in the German newspaper ''

Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...

'' between December 1930 and January 1931, and published in book form in April

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

Plot

Although the book follows different characters from those in ''

'', it can be assumed that they were in the same company, as the characters recall other characters from the earlier novel. Tjaden is the only member of the 2nd Company to feature prominently in both books. Set a few weeks after the end of ''All Quiet on the Western Front'', the novel deals with the fall of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

and details the experience of young men in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

who have returned from the trenches of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and are trying to integrate back into civilian life. Its most salient feature is the main characters' pessimism about contemporary society which, they feel, is morally bankrupt because it has allegedly caused the war and apparently does not wish to reform itself. For example in one scene, a group of student veterans are forced to endure a corny speech by their professor who eulogizes their fallen comrades as having entered a “long sleep beneath the green grasses.” The student veterans mock the professor for his naive platitudes with one, Westerholt shouting, “in the mud of shell holes they are lying, knocked rotten, ripped in pieces, gone down into the bog—Green grasses!"

Reception

The book was banned during

Nazi rule Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictator ...

Preservation

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, the book will enter the

public domain in the United States Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by the intellectual property right known as copyright, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. Works automatically enter the public domain when their copyright has ...

2027 Predicted and scheduled events * May – The 2027 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled; the location is typically determined by the previous year's winner. * May 15– August 15 – Expo 2027 is scheduled to be held in Belgrade, Serbia. * ...

Adaptations

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

, '' The Road Back'' –

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

directed by

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fra ...

and starring, among others, Noah Beery Jr. and

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Following his father ...

English translations

Arthur Wesley Wheen Arthur Wesley Wheen, (9 February 1897 – 15 March 1971) was an Australian soldier, translator and museum librarian. He is best known for translating the works of Erich Maria Remarque into English, beginning with the classic war novel ''All Qu ...

, as ''The Road Back''. Published in 1931 by

Little, Brown, and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

and G.P. Putnam and Co. * Brian Murdoch, as ''The Way Back''. Published in 2019 by '' Vintage Classics'', .

References

External links

* 1931 German novels All Quiet on the Western Front Anti-war novels German novels adapted into films Novels by Erich Maria Remarque Novels first published in serial form Novels set during World War I Novels set in Germany Sequel novels Works originally published in Vossische Zeitung {{1930s-WWI-novel-stub