The Road Back

The Road Back (German: Der Weg zurück) is a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque. The novel was first serialized in the German newspaper Vossische Zeitung between December 1930 and January 1931, and published in book form in April 1931. It details the experience of young men in Germany who have returned from the trenches of World War I and are trying to integrate back into society. Although the book follows different characters from those in All Quiet on the Western Front it can be assumed that they were in the same company, as the characters recall other characters from All Quiet on the Western Front. Tjaden is the only member of the 2nd Company to feature prominently in both books. The book begins a few weeks after the end of All Quiet on the Western Front. 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.

The book was banned during Nazi rule.

Film, TV, and theatrical adaptations

• 1937, The Road Back - motion picture directed by James Whale and starring among others, Noah Beery, Jr. and Richard Cromwell.