A summary of "The Promised Land" by Erich Maria Remarque

Written in the late 1960s and left unfinished by the author’s death in 1970, this novel was first published in its original form in 1998. This work is the final installment in the author’s émigré series, which also includes "Love Thy Neighbor," "Arc de Triomphe," and "A Night in Lisbon." The novel conveys the drama of European refugees in New York in 1944, where escape from Nazism turns into a painful attempt to rediscover oneself.

Arrival at Ellis Island and first steps in New York

In the summer of 1944, the protagonist is in an immigration camp on Ellis Island, gazing across the bay at the dazzling Manhattan skyline. In his pocket lies a nearly genuine German passport bearing the name of Ludwig Sommer, who died in Bordeaux. The protagonist’s real name appears on Gestapo records. Behind him are two years of clandestine existence in the Brussels Museum, where the director hid him, a clash with a German patrol in France, and an escape from a European internment camp.

Lawyer Levin appears at Ellis Island. He was sent by Robert Hirsch, a longtime comrade of Sommer’s during his emigrant wanderings. Sommer believed Hirsch had been executed in Marseille, but he survived and settled in New York. Levin and his partner Watson obtain a two-month tourist visa for Sommer. The wealthy Jewish banker Tannenbaum acts as his financial guarantor.

Finding himself on the streets of Manhattan, Sommer is stunned by the world without bombings, the bustle of cars, and the abundance of food. He checks into the modest Mirage Hotel, run by Russian émigré Vladimir Moikov. There, Sommer meets Kurt Lachmann, who limps after a brutal beating by stormtroopers in 1933, and the fashion model Maria Fiola.

Underground earnings and the everyday life of exiles

Sommer visits Hirsch at his electrical goods store. In France, Hirsch, posing as Spanish Vice-Consul Raoul Tenier, bravely rescued doomed people. In America, he sells radios and toasters, suffering from the enforced serenity of the bourgeoisie. Hirsch provides his friend with money and helps him settle in.

While browsing antique shops on Second Avenue, Sommer visits brothers Alexander and Arnold Silver. He spots a bronze vase in their window. The owners dismiss it as a later copy, but Sommer, thanks to his museum experience, recognizes it as a Zhou-era original. Silver resells the bronze to the museum, shares a portion of the profits with Sommer, and then illegally hires him to clear out debris in the basement.

In the basement labyrinth, Sommer unearths two antique prayer rugs. Selling these items brings him additional commission. He buys a new dark blue suit, trying to at least outwardly shed the burden of the past.

Sommer visits the apartment of Jessie Stein, the guardian of impoverished refugees. Actor Gregor Haas, writer Francke, and twin sisters Erika and Beatrice Dahl gather in her salon. They discuss the news of the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944. The news that the dictator survived plunges those present into despair. At the Mirage Hotel, the quiet émigré Siegfried Sahl dies of a heart attack.

Working at Black’s and social life

Banker Tannenbaum receives an American passport and changes his surname to Smith. At Smith’s celebratory dinner, goulash prepared by the Hungarian cook Rosa is served. The owner recommends Sommer to art dealer Reginald Black, who hires him as an assistant. Sommer catalogs paintings by Degas, Monet, Cézanne, and Renoir.

Black teaches Sommer commercial strategy. He masterfully manipulates wealthy buyers, like the arms magnate Cooper. While delivering a Degas to Cooper’s luxurious mansion, Sommer sees a painting of a roaring stag in his bedroom. This popular print reveals the genuine taste of a businessman profiting from wars. Meanwhile, Hirsch becomes fascinated by the dazzling but extremely naive model Carmen.

Sommer’s relationship with Maria Fiola grows closer. They stroll through New York City at night, taking refuge in an alleyway from a summer thunderstorm. However, Maria remains elusive. She wears borrowed dresses, rents jewelry, and occasionally appears in the company of diplomat Roy Martin.

Protecting the sick and losing

Hirsch recruits Sommer to help him assassinate Adolf Blumenthal. This dishonest émigré has embezzled Dr. Bosse’s valuable stamp collection. Using a bluff and threats of exposure to immigration officials, Hirsch forces Blumenthal to return the $1,200 Bosse needs to pass his medical exams.

Misfortunes continue to plague the émigré community. Writer Teller hangs himself in his room. Sommer attends the funeral before her cremation. Soon, Jessie Stein falls gravely ill. Surgeons Ravitch and Bosse perform surgery and discover incurable cancer. The doctors conceal the truth to allow her to live her remaining months.

Sommer is plagued by nightmares. Memories of his dead father, Brussels, and Ruth, who died in Paris, return. The news of Paris’s liberation in August 1944 brings a profound sense of relief. For the first time in many years, he feels the gates of freedom opening.

Faces of the past and the inevitable choice

Sommer goes to the Metropolitan Museum. While gazing at Chinese bronzes and Impressionist paintings, he realizes that his life in America is merely a temporary respite, a gifted intermezzo. The millionaire Durand II dies without paying for Renoir’s portrait of Madame Henriot. Black and Sommer retrieve the painting from the deceased’s house, enduring a confrontation with the greedy heirs.

The Silver brothers’ shop closes due to Arnold’s marriage to a Christian woman, Caroline. At the Mirage Hotel, Sommer meets Siegfried Lenz, a former concentration camp prisoner who survived thanks to his ability to paint portraits of the camp officials. Lenz invites Sommer to Hollywood, where it’s easier to forget the European nightmare.

Sommer refuses to leave for the Pacific coast. He realizes that the liberation of Belgium and the Allied advance will hasten the collapse of Nazism. He cannot forget his duty. Ahead of him lies a return to Germany and the inevitable reckoning with his father’s killer.