The Spark of Life by Erich Maria Remarque
"The Spark of Life" by Erich Maria Remarque is a poignant novel that delves into the harrowing experiences of German political prisoners in a concentration camp during the Nazi regime. The narrative centers on a group of inmates, including Friedrich Koller, a former journalist who refused to betray others to the Gestapo, and others who represent various facets of society affected by the tyranny of the time. The novel explores the psychological and physical brutality inflicted by the camp guards, particularly highlighting the character of Bruno Neubauer, who embodies the banality of evil through his pursuit of personal gain under Nazism.
Remarque's work reflects on the broader implications of the rise of Nazism, contrasting the inmates' suffering with the indifference of their captors. As the story unfolds, the prisoners become aware of the impending Allied victory in the war, which ignites a sense of hope and resistance among them. The narrative captures their struggle for survival and the assertion of their humanity in the face of dehumanization. Notably, Koller’s act of defiance against a guard symbolizes the enduring spirit of resistance, even as it leads to tragic consequences. Ultimately, "The Spark of Life" serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit amid one of history's darkest chapters, offering insights into the moral complexities of survival and the assertion of life against oppression.
The Spark of Life by Erich Maria Remarque
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published:Der Funke Leben, 1952 (English translation, 1952)
Type of work: Novel
The Work
The Spark of Life required five years to research and write since it deals with the lives of German political prisoners consigned to concentration camps, a subject about which Remarque knew nothing firsthand. Too weak to endure forced labor, the prisoners are installed in a small labor camp where their captors expect them to die within weeks.
The novel focuses upon Skeleton 509 and five other prisoners. Skeleton 509’s real name is Friedrich Koller, a former journalist, who refused to inform on people sought by the Gestapo. The others are Joseph Bucher (the son of a left-wing editor), Ruth Holland (Bucher’s girlfriend), Old Ahasver (an aged survivor of several camps), Leo Lebenthal (a former businessman), and Karel, a Czechoslovakian boy whose parents have died in Nazi gas chambers.
Contrasted with the inmates are their guards, notably the camp commander, Bruno Neubauer. Neubauer was once a minor civil servant who saw Nazism as the route to personal success; he epitomizes the banality of evil. Remarque traces in parallel with the main story the essential elements in the rise of Nazism. Through Surgeon Major Wiese, who conducts deadly medical experiments upon “volunteer” inmates, Remarque adds a dimension of science gone mad.
Remarque’s fictitious labor camp and its inmates form a microcosm of the perversions that characterized the Nazi regime: torture, dismemberment, cruel and bizarre medical experiments, and a grotesque array of other physical and psychological techniques designed to dehumanize “enemies of the state.”
Against this background, the novel’s impetus stems from the fact that Koller and other inmates realize that the Allied war against Germany is being won. A nearby town, Mellern (modeled precisely on Osnabrück), is bombed by Allied planes. Commandant Neubauer, in anticipation of the camp’s liberation by Allied troops, cosmetically changes its records and appearance. Surgeon Major Wiese no longer kills prisoners who fail to “volunteer” for his experiments. Camp guards become noticeably lenient.
Koller and the others seize the moment and mount a resistance. Koller slays Weber, the German guard who tortured him, and then is slain himself as the camp comes under the guards’ fire. There are survivors, however, like Joseph Bucher and Ruth Holland, whose lives justify the fight and testify to the spark of life that inspired Koller and his comrades to assert their right to exist.
Bibliography
Barker, Christine R., and R. W. Last. Erich Maria Remarque. London: Oswald Wolff, 1979.
Firda, Richard Arthur. “All Quiet on the Western Front”: Literary Analysis and Cultural Context. New York: Twayne, 1993.
Firda, Richard Arthur. Erich Maria Remarque: A Thematic Analysis of His Novels. New York: Peter Lang, 1988.
Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.
Gordon, Haim. Heroism and Friendship in the Novels of Erich Maria Remarque. New York: P. Lang, 2003.
Murdock, Brian. The Novels of Erich Maria Remarque: Sparks of Life. Rochester, N.Y.: Camden House, 2006.
Taylor, Harley U., Jr. Erich Maria Remarque: A Literary and Film Biography. New York: Peter Lang, 1989.
Tims, Hilton. Erich Maria Remarque: The Last Romantic. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003.
Wagener, Hans. Understanding Erich Maria Remarque. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.