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Thomas Mann 1875-1955
A German Classic,
Thomas Mann was a novelist and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929.
Some time after his father died,
Thomas' family moved to Munich.
In Munich, Thomas Mann worked for an
insurance company and as editor for the weekly magazine
Simplicissimus. The magazine was published from 1871 until
1914.
THE FAMILY OF THOMAS MANN
Thomas' father was Heinrich Mann.
His mother was
Julia Mann.
Thomas
had an elder brother, Heinrich Jr., who was a
writer as well.
Around 1918, there was some
tension between Heinrich and Thomas when both brothers'
political opinions went opposite directions. But by 1922
Heinrich and Thomas were buddies again.
THOMAS AND HIS BROTHER HEINRICH
IN 1931
Deutsches Historisches
Museum Berlin
[+] Click to enlarge.
In 1905, Thomas married Katia Pringsheim. Below you can
see Katia waiting for her husband to pick up his honorary
citizenship of his home town Lübeck in Germany.
THOMAS AND KATIA MANN 1955
Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin
[+] Click to enlarge.
Katia and Thomas had six children.
Three of them, Erika, Klaus, and Golo,
also became writers.
THOMAS MANN AND
THE NAZIS
In 1930, Thomas Mann had the
brilliant idea to give a talk in Berlin with the topic An
Appeal to Reason. In this oration he was basically rallying against the
Nazis who in turn earmarked him.
While Thomas Mann's brother Heinrich teamed up
with
Albert Einstein
to collect signatures against the Nazis, Thomas decided to
travel Europe and, after Hitler came to power in 1933, not to
return to Germany any time soon. The Nazis made sure he would
stay away and took his German citizenship.
Czechoslovakia felt sorry for
him and thus Thomas Mann became a citizen of
Czechoslovakia.
During
WWII,
Thomas Mann collaborated with BBC and send some German radio messages
to anyone who could tune in at home.
After having been accused to be a
Communist in the US, Thomas settled down in Switzerland.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
OF THOMAS MANN
1875 Birth in Lübeck, Germany
1891 Father dies
1894 Moves to Munich, Germany
1895 Quits his job and decides to be a writer
1896 Travels Italy together with his brother (until 1898)
1898 Editor for Simplicissimus (until 1900)
1900 Briefly military services
1905 Marries Katia
1919 Honorary doctorate - University of Bonn, Germany
1933 Leaves Germany
1936 Czechoslovakian citizen
1938 Moves to Princeton, US
1941 Moves to Pacific Palisades, California
1944 Becomes US citizen
1952 Moves to Erlenbach, Switzerland
THOMAS MANN TRIVIA
You are welcome to visit the
Thomas Mann
Archive in Zurich.
Thomas Mann was a big fan of German philosopher
Shopenhauer, German philosopher
Nietzsche, and German
composer
Wagner.
THOMAS LIKED TO HOLD HIS HAND TO HIS
HEAD
Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin
[+] Click to enlarge.
THE WRITINGS OF
THOMAS MANN
1898 - The little Herr Friedemann, a collection of
short novels
1901 - Buddenbrooks
1903 - Tristan, a collection. Included was the novella
Tonio Kröger
1912 - Death in Venice
1918 - Reflections of an Unpolitical Man
1924 - The Magic Mountain
1930 - Mario and the Magician
1939 - The Beloved Returns
1943 - Joseph and His Brothers
1947 - Doktor Faustus
1951 - The Holy Sinner
1953 - The Black Swan
1954 - The Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man
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