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a. Nach der Niederschrift des Briefes notierte Mann am 31. 1. 1936 in sein Tagebuch:
„Ich bin mir der Tragweite des heute getanen Schrittes bewusst. Ich habe nach 3
Jahren des Zögerns mein Gewissen und meine feste Überzeugung sprechen
lassen. Mein Wort wird nicht ohne Eindruck bleiben.“
b. Am Tag nach der Veröffentlichung des Briefes schrieb er in sein Tagebuch:
„ Das Bewusstsein, dem niederträchtigen Regime einen zweifellos empfindlichen
Schlag versetzt zu haben, erfüllt mich mit Genugtuung. Es wird sich nach Kräften
zu rächen suchen. Möge es.“
Mann left Germany involuntarily, which was a painful decision. Despite the fact that he had criticized National Socialism very early, he would have preferred to stay in Germany. In the letter from 1936 he openly speaks against National Socialism.
It seems that in 1936 Mann felt he had to publicly show he was an opponent of National Socialism. He knew that there would be sanctions but it was of great importantance to him; he might have treated it like new freedom. The sources give no detailed motives.
In 1936 a large number of German intellectuals were in the same situation as Thomas Mann. Other prominent examples are Bertolt Brecht, Anna Seghers, Heinrich Mann, Lion Feuchtwanger, Egon Erwin Kisch, Walter Benjamin. A lot of German intellectuals were opponents of National Socialism and chose or were forced to emigrate in order to escape persecution or death. At the same time, most of them immediately lost their audience because they were not able to publish in exile.
© 2010 MIH. With the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union
Presentation
Thomas Mann was a German author. He is one of the best-known authors of the 20th century. In 1929 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for Buddenbrooks (published in 1901). In this novel he describes the self-perception of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie, on the example of a merchant family. His older brother Heinrich and three out of his six children: Erika, Klaus and Golo were also writers.
In his novel Mario and the Magician Thomas Mann deals with the Italian fascism. To show how the mass suggestion works he describes the performance of a magician in a small town. He also expressed his opinions in numerous speeches. For example, in 1930 in a speech given at the Beethovensaal in Berlin he described National Socialism as a ‘major wave of eccentric barbarism and primitive funfair barbarism.”
The decision to emigrate wasn’t easy for Thomas Mann. He went to Switzerland via France, and in 1938 he emigrated to the USA. In France, shortly after he emigrated, Mann suffered from deep depression.