Erich Maria Remarque was born Erich Paul on June 22, 1898 in Osnabruck, Germany. He was the second son (and third child) of a lower middle-class family. The young Remarque’s interest in playing the piano—it has been speculated that he considered a career as a musician—proved untenable after he was hit in the wrist by shrapnel during World War I, where he notably fought alongside future Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Like his character Paul Bäumer, Remarque’s mother fell ill with cancer around the start of the war.
In 1916, the 18-year-old Remarque was drafted into the army along with many of his schoolmates. In the suburbs of his hometown, Remarque underwent basic training and in June of the...
