Arch of Triumph is a continuation of the theme that Remarque used in All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), The Road Back (1931), Three Comrades (1937), and Flotsam (1941): the effect of war on peoples and nations. However, instead of World War I, Arch of Triumph is mainly about the precipitous times during which the world hurtled towards World War II. Set in Paris in 1939, the story focuses upon the Jewish and anti-Nazi refugees who escaped from Germany before the Nazis had gained complete control of the country.

Socially, the refugees are victims of the Nazi political regime and so are the first to suffer the effects of World War II. Dr. Ravic, Boris Morosow, Rosenfeld, Aaron Goldberg, and countless others have slipped into France without valid passports and thus live as fugitives, knowing that if they are caught by the French police, they will be deported. Since they...