Erich Maria Remarque, Der schwarze Obelisk [The Black Obelisk]

Hans Wagener (University of California, Los Angeles)
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Although first published in 1956,

Der schwarze Obelisk

[

The Black Obelisk

] is in some respect a continuation of the Remarque’s much earlier war novels

Im Westen nichts neues

[

All Quiet on the Western Front

, 1929] and

Der Weg zurück

[

The Road Back

, 1931]. The novel is set between April and October 1923, i.e. during the time between these two novels and

Kammerater

[

Three Comrades

, 1936]. It is the time when the hyperinflation in Germany was reaching its peak, when workers were being paid twice a day and speculators became rich. The salaried civil servants and the poor, particularly the war-disabled and old people who depend on pensions, are starving because their pensions cannot keep up with inflation. In the center of the novel the first-person narrator and protagonist, Ludwig Bodmer, a…

2237 words

Citation: Wagener, Hans. "Der schwarze Obelisk". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19778, accessed 19 March 2024.]

19778 Der schwarze Obelisk 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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