Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
known for his
socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the
Prussian Academy of Arts
The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and la ...
. His fierce criticism of the growing
Fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
and
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
forced him to flee Germany after the Nazis came to power during 1933. He was the elder brother of writer
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
.
Early life
Born in
Lübeck, as the oldest child of Senator Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann,
grain merchant and finance minister of the
Free City of Lübeck
The Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Freie und Hansestadt Lübeck) was a city-state from 1226 to 1937, in what is now the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
History
Imperial Free City and the Hanseatic ...
, a state of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, and
Júlia da Silva Bruhns
Júlia da Silva Bruhns (August 14, 1851March 11, 1923) was a German-Brazilian writer. She was the wife of the Lübeck senator and grain merchant Johann Heinrich Mann, and also mother of writers Thomas Mann and Heinrich Mann.
Biography
Júli ...
. He was the elder brother of the writer
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
with whom he had a lifelong rivalry. The
Mann family was an
affluent family of grain merchants of the
Hanseatic city of Lübeck. After the death of his father, his mother relocated the family to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
, where Heinrich began his career as a ''freier Schriftsteller'' (free novelist).
Work
Mann's essay on
Émile Zola
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
and the novel ''
Der Untertan'' (published over the years 1912-1918) earned him much respect during the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...
, since they satirized Imperial German society. Later, in 1930, his book ''
Professor Unrat
''Professor Unrat, oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen'' (1905, trans. by Ernest Boyd as ''Small Town Tyrant''), which translates as "Professor Unclean", Herman G. Weinberg, 1967. p. 48 (footnote): "In German, the name "Rat" has the connotation of "couns ...
'' was freely adapted into the movie ''
Der Blaue Engel
''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert L ...
'' (''The Blue Angel'').
Carl Zuckmayer wrote the script, and
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
was the director. Mann wanted his paramour, the actress
Trude Hesterberg, to play the main female part as the "actress" Lola Lola (named Rosa Fröhlich in the novel), but
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
was given the part, her first sound role.
Together with
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
and other celebrities during 1932, Mann was a signatory to the "
Urgent Call for Unity", asking the voters to reject the Nazis. Einstein and Mann had previously co-authored a letter during 1931 condemning the murder of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
n scholar
Milan Šufflay.
Mann became ''
persona non grata
In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution.
Diplomacy
Under Article 9 of the ...
'' in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and left even before the
Reichstag fire
The Reichstag fire (german: Reichstagsbrand, ) was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday 27 February 1933, precisely four weeks after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of ...
of 1933. He went to France where he lived in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
and
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
. During the German occupation, he made his way to
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, where he was aided by
Varian Fry in September 1940 to escape to Spain. Assisted by
Justus Rosenberg, he and his wife Nelly Kröger, his nephew
Golo Mann
Golo Mann (born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann; 27 March 1909 – 7 April 1994) was a popular German historian and essayist. Having completed a doctorate in philosophy under Karl Jaspers at Heidelberg, in 1933 he fled Hitler's Germany. He followe ...
,
Alma Mahler-Werfel and
Franz Werfel
Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian- Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The For ...
hiked for six hours across the border at Port Bou. After arriving in Portugal, the group stayed in Monte Estoril, at the Grande Hotel D’Itália, between 18 September and 4 October 1940.
[ Exiles Memorial Center.] On 4 October 1940, they boarded the ''
S.S. Nea Hellas'', headed for New York City.
The Nazis burnt Heinrich Mann's books as "contrary to the German spirit" during
the infamous book burning of May 10, 1933, which was instigated by the then Nazi propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...
.
Later life
During the 1930s and later in American exile, Mann's literary popularity waned. Nevertheless, he wrote ''Die Jugend des Königs Henri Quatre'' and ''Die Vollendung des Königs Henri Quatre'' as part of the
Exilliteratur. The two novels described the life and importance of
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monar ...
and were acclaimed by his brother Thomas Mann, who spoke of the "great splendour and dynamic art" of the work. The plot, based on Europe's early
modern history
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...
from a French perspective, anticipated the end of
French–German enmity.
His second wife, (1898–1944), committed suicide in Los Angeles.
Heinrich Mann died on March 11, 1950, sixteen days before his 79th birthday, in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, lonely and without much money, just months before he was to relocate to East Berlin to become president of the
German Academy of Arts. His ashes were later taken to
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
and were interred at the
Dorotheenstadt Cemetery in a
grave of honor
An ''Ehrengrab'' (English: 'grave of honor') is a distinction granted by certain German, Swiss and Austrian cities to some of their citizens for extraordinary services or achievements in their lifetimes. If there are no descendants or instituti ...
.
Popular culture
Mann was portrayed by
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1 ...
in the television adaptation of
Christopher Hampton
Sir Christopher James Hampton ( Horta, Azores, 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the novel of the same name and the film ...
's play ''Tales from Hollywood'' (1992).
In ''
Die Manns – Ein Jahrhundertroman
''Die Manns – Ein Jahrhundertroman'' (; ''The Manns – Novel of a Century'') is a 2001 German Docudrama-miniseries directed by Heinrich Breloer.
The miniseries is divided in three parts and tells the story of the Mann family, a family of fa ...
'' (2001) he was played by
Jürgen Hentsch.
Film adaptations
*''
The Blue Angel'', directed by
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
(Germany, 1930, based on the novel ''
Professor Unrat
''Professor Unrat, oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen'' (1905, trans. by Ernest Boyd as ''Small Town Tyrant''), which translates as "Professor Unclean", Herman G. Weinberg, 1967. p. 48 (footnote): "In German, the name "Rat" has the connotation of "couns ...
'')
*''
Der Untertan'', directed by
Wolfgang Staudte
Wolfgang Staudte (9 October 1906 – 19 January 1984), born Georg Friedrich Staudte, was a German film director, script writer and acting, actor. He was born in Saarbrücken.
After 1945, Staudte also looked at German guilt in the cinema. Alon ...
(East Germany, 1951, based on the novel ''
Der Untertan'')
*''
The Blue Angel'', directed by
Edward Dmytryk (USA, 1959, based on the novel ''
Professor Unrat
''Professor Unrat, oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen'' (1905, trans. by Ernest Boyd as ''Small Town Tyrant''), which translates as "Professor Unclean", Herman G. Weinberg, 1967. p. 48 (footnote): "In German, the name "Rat" has the connotation of "couns ...
'')
*''Madame Legros'', directed by
Michael Kehlmann (West Germany, 1968, TV film, based on the play ''Madame Legros'')
*''
Man of Straw'', directed by
Herbert Wise (UK, 1972, TV miniseries, based on the novel ''
Der Untertan'')
*''Im Schlaraffenland'', directed by
Kurt Jung-Alsen (East Germany, 1975, TV film, based on the novel ''Im Schlaraffenland'')
*''Belcanto oder Darf eine Nutte schluchzen?'', directed by
Robert van Ackeren
Robert van Ackeren (born 22 December 1946) is a German movie director, actor, producer, writer and cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing ...
(West Germany, 1977, based on the novel ''Empfang bei der Welt'')
*''Die Verführbaren'', directed by (East Germany, 1977, TV film, based on the novel ''Ein ernstes Leben'')
*', directed by
Marcel Camus and (France, 1979, TV miniseries, based on the novel ''Die Jugend des Königs Henri Quatre'')
*''Im Schlaraffenland'', directed by
Fritz Umgelter (West Germany, 1981, TV film, based on the novel ''Im Schlaraffenland'')
*''Suturp – Eine Liebesgeschichte'', directed by
Gerd Keil Gerd or GERD may refer to:
* Gerd (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname
* Gerd (moon), a moon of Saturn
* Gerd Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica
* Gastroesophageal reflux disease, a chronic symptom of mucosal damage ...
(East Germany, 1981, TV film, based on the short story ''Suturp'')
*', directed by
Alexander Lang (East Germany, 1983, TV film, based on the unfinished ''Die traurige Geschichte von Friedrich dem Großen'')
*''Varieté'', directed by (East Germany, 1985, TV film, based on the play ''Varieté'')
*', directed by (Germany, 1992, TV film, based on the novel ''Ein ernstes Leben'')
*''
Henri 4'', directed by
Jo Baier
Jo Baier (born 13 February 1949) is a German film director and writer. He directed more than twenty films since 1982 and is known for ''Operation Valkyrie'' (2004), ''Henri 4'' (2010) and ' (2006). He is married to Gertrud Baier.
Early life and ...
(Germany, 2010, based on the novels ''Die Jugend des Königs Henri Quatre'' and ''Die Vollendung des Königs Henri Quatre'')
See also
*
Exilliteratur
*
Dohm-Mann family tree
*
Urgent Call for Unity
References
Further reading
* Gross, David: ''The Writer and Society: Heinrich Mann and Literary Politics in Germany, 1890–1940'', Humanities Press, New Jersey, 1980, ()
*
Hamilton, Nigel: ''The Brothers Mann: The Lives of Heinrich and Thomas Mann'',
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Univers ...
, (1978), ()
* Juers, Evelyn: ''House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann'', Giramondo Publishing Co., Australia, 2008, ()
* Mauthner, Martin: ''German Writers in French Exile, 1933–1940'', Vallentine Mitchell, London, 2007, ().
* Walter Fähnders/Walter Delabar: ''Heinrich Mann (1871–1950)''. Berlin 2005 (Memoria 4)
* Heinrich Mann's life in California during World War II, including his relationship with Nelly Mann, Thomas Mann and
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
, is a subject of Christopher Hampton's play ''Tales from Hollywood'', where he was played in film by Jeremy Irons (
BBC Video ''Performance'': “Tales from Hollywood”, 1992) and on stage by Keir Dullea (
Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2012).
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Heinrich
1871 births
1950 deaths
Writers from Lübeck
20th-century German novelists
German essayists
German biographers
Male biographers
German poets
19th-century German writers
Exilliteratur writers
German World War I poets
German pacifists
German people of Brazilian descent
People of the Weimar Republic
Heinrich
German expatriates in the United States
Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany
20th-century biographers
German male essayists
German male poets
German male novelists
German anti-fascists
19th-century essayists
20th-century essayists
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20th-century German male writers