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 23 November 2024.]
