Anti-war novel banned by Nazis gets Netflix revival

Banned by the Nazis for its anti-war message, the classic novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” is getting a Netflix revival with lessons for a new troubled age.

The nearly century-old book, already the subject of an Oscar-winning film and an acclaimed TV movie, is being brought to the screen by a German director for the first time, The Times of Israel reported on September 30.

“My film stands out from American or British [war] films made from the point of view of the victors,” filmmaker Edward Berger, 52, told AFP. “In Germany, there is always this feeling of shame, mourning and guilt [surrounding war]. It was important for me to present this perspective.”

Published in 1929, the novel by Erich Maria Remarque depicts the experiences of a teenage German soldier during World War I. It is one of the most influential examples of anti-militaristic literature ever written, translated into over 60 languages and selling more than 50 million copies worldwide.

Just one year after it came out, a US film adaptation by Lewis Milestone was released that would win the Academy Awards for best picture and best director. But its subversive message saw the work banned in Germany and targeted in the 1933 book burnings by the Nazis, who accused it of “betraying soldiers.”