BOOK EVENT
Between 1942 and 1952, Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize-winning German author, lived in a Pacific Palisades home he built while he and his family were exiled from their native country. Today, that house is a center for residency programs for those interested in contemplating various global issues. It’s also the launchpad of a new book, “Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles: Stories From Exile 1940-1952,” published by Angel City Press, which takes readers on a tour of the places and communities that were part of the writer’s life during his time in the city.
The book, edited by Nikolai Blaumer, former program director for Thomas Mann House, and Benno Herz, the institution’s current program director, came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Suddenly, the house was empty,” says Herz on a recent video call.
He wondered how to get the stories archived within the residence to the outside world. That process began with social media posts highlighting some of the activities documented in Mann’s diaries.
“They were more trivial stories that triggered curiosity and also resonated very well with our social media followers,” he says. This led to gathering items like maps and photos. “We just couldn’t do it all ourselves anymore, so we asked fellows, friends and scholars who worked with the house before to also contribute and write pieces. Suddenly, we realized this might be a fun book.”
Mann, who was politically outspoken, and his wife, Katia, who was from a Jewish family, left Germany in 1933 after the rise of the National Socialist Party. The couple eventually made their way to the United States. While Mann’s work was banned in Germany under the Nazi regime, he attained celebrity status in the United States, and the country would have an impact on Mann’s work.
“It was a very productive atmosphere,” Herz says. “The American public was looking for answers about what the hell is going on in Germany, and there was Thomas Mann, who was such an important representative of German culture.
“On the one hand, there was this need to talk about what’s going on in Germany with someone who was actually a representative for Germany,” he adds. “On the other hand, Thomas Mann was also very fascinated by the United States and how such a relatively young country was able to become such a model democracy, in a way.”
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Mann was part of a community that was making a big impact on the city. “In terms of L.A., on a more local level, of course, his house here became this hub for all these salons and dinners and meetings with the emigré community,” Herz says.
“It wasn’t only writers but also composers and filmmakers and architects. They all mingled here. They were all influenced by the city, by Hollywood, by the American way of life.”
Through essays, photos and illustrations, “Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles” shows the connections between the author and the people and institutions who forged a community that would have lasting impact on architecture, film, science and other fields. For those coming to the U.S. from Germany and other European countries during the time of the Nazi regime, Los Angeles was a destination.
“At the time, the East Coast was already very much established. There was a cultural infrastructure. There was a literary scene. It was already more expensive, more established,” Herz explains.
“Whereas, Los Angeles at the time was still considered an experimental paradise on the furthest western end of the United States, where they were able to recreate their ideas of an intellectual community.”
Plus, Hollywood was able to provide work for those escaping Nazi Germany. There were already connections between the U.S. film industry and the one that had been taking shape in Germany.
As Herz points out, German
films like “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and “Metropolis” were international hits, and Hollywood studios had already invited directors like Ernst Lubitsch and Fritz Lang out to California.
“So, in the ’30s, when the first laws by the Nazis were implemented that prohibited Jewish professionals from working in the German film industry, Hollywood was a huge draw because they were able to offer jobs,” he says.
That didn’t just apply to filmmakers. Writers and composers were hired for film work here as well. “That was actually the reason that many of the exiles qualified for a visa. They had working contracts.”
Perhaps much like Los Angeles at that time, the book brings together both intellectual and pop culture.
“What the book doesn’t try to do is say, this is mass media and entertainment and it’s shallow and then
Benno Herz, coeditor of “Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles: Stories From Exile 1940-1952,” will be in conversation with Michaela Ullmann.
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday Where: Vroman’s Bookstore, 695E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena
vromansbookstore.com (search “Benno Herz”) we have fine art,” says Herz. “The idea is how both of these different spheres are on a similar plane and when they come together, something interesting can happen.”
It also lends space to the lighter moments in Mann’s L.A. life, like his trips to the Brown Derby and the time spent with his dog Niko. “I only moved here in 2019, but one thing that struck me right away is that people in Los Angeles have a very passionate and dedicated relationship with their dogs,” says Herz. “I thought it was interesting that Mann also had this dog, Nick, who plays a role in his diary on a daily basis.”
Mann’s relationship with his canine pal is documented in an essay by Rembert Hüser. “Thomas Mann needs his off-time from this highly structured daily writing and thinking routine,” says Herz, “and he gets that by letting the dog lead him out of the house and showing him around the neighborhood, kind of dragging him away from his desk.”