Cultural history: Pacific Palisades and the legacy of German exile

Cultural history: Pacific Palisades and the legacy of German exile

Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles plays an important role in German history, especially during the 1940s. The district, which is sometimes referred to as "Weimar under palms", was the home of many exile, including the famous writer Thomas Mann and Lion Feuchtwanger. Today two properties are owned by the Federal Republic of Germany in the area: the Thomas Mann-Haus and the Villa Aurora.

The Thomas Mann-Haus remained intact, while Villa Aurora has recently been damaged, but partially withstanded the fires. A final assessment of the damage to Villa Aurora is currently not possible. This villa was set up as an artist residence and meeting place in 1995 and once served as the exile dweller of Lion Feuchtwanger.

important cultural sites and their history

The Thomas Mann House was acquired for around $ 13 million in 2016 and opened by Frank-Walter Steinmeier in 2018. The purchase of the Thomas Mann Haus was the result of an online petition that should support the preservation of the house. In the 1940s, the Villa Aurora was an important meeting point for European and American intellectuals. The guests of Marta and Lion Feuchtwanger included prominent personalities such as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, Alfred Döblin and Arnold Schönberg.

The Thomas Mann House, designed by Bauhaus architect Julius Ralph Davidson, offers a living space of 622 square meters. Thomas Mann lived in this house with his family from 1940 to 1952 and worked on several of his literary works. Thomas Mann's study in particular is considered a historically important space in which he also wrote his famous BBC radio speeches.

Further information on these historical sites can be found in the reports of Black Forest Bode href = "https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf228/Goethe-institut_the-big-big-pond_villa-aura-thoma-men-house-angeles.pdf"> Goethe-Institut .

-transmitted by West-Ost-media