Florian Illies reveals the Mann family's exile on the Côte d'Azur!

Florian Illies reveals the Mann family's exile on the Côte d'Azur!

With his new book “When the Sun Sets,” Florian Illies has created a lively panorama of the exile of the literary family Thomas Mann on the Côte d’Azur in the 1930s. This narrative is a powerful testimony to the challenges and tensions that came with life in exile. The story begins in 1933 when, after the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Manns find refuge in the small fishing town of Sanary, which quickly becomes a popular retreat for German writers. According to ga-online.de, Thomas Mann, who arrived with his wife Katia and two children, experienced a time characterized by stress and inner conflict.

Sanary, with around 3,000 residents, becomes the Mann family's new home. Illies describes how the villa La Tranquille, where the family lives, becomes a cultural and historical place. The Manns organize literary evenings and meet with other prominent exiles such as Lion Feuchtwanger. These evenings not only offer a touch of normality in a difficult everyday life, they are also a sign of the intellectual vitality that continues despite the adverse circumstances. In the summer of 1933, Thomas Mann and his family worked to secure their financial situation despite the expropriations by the Nazis. They transferred parts of their assets to Switzerland, which stabilized their livelihoods sanary-tourisme.com reports.

Internal conflicts and family tensions

However, the situation for the Manns was not only characterized by external pressure. Thomas Mann himself was in a deep inner crisis and struggled with his identity as an emigrant. He felt humiliated when he was described as such and expressed an “inner rejection of martyrdom” in his diaries. The uncertainty of returning to Germany weighed heavily on him, especially after his Munich villa was confiscated. He felt like he had “fallen from heaven,” a feeling that contrasts with the experiences of other émigrés like Heinrich Mann, who faced his own struggles in the opposition, according to literaturportal-bayern.de.

Although the pressure from outside was great, some of the Mann-children, such as Erika and Klaus, shone with their tireless commitment against the Nazis. They tried to encourage their father not to lose heart and not to return to Germany. But tensions within the family escalated, especially with regard to Klaus' involvement in the exile magazine “Diesammlung”. Thomas Mann strived to remain true to his strict everyday life, which was reflected in his meticulous records of his own health.

A look back and into the future

In his work, Illies uses diaries and memoirs to illuminate the complex relationships of the Mann family and their surroundings during the years of exile. Despite the adverse circumstances and the doubts that plagued Thomas Mann, he managed to play an important role in exile with his literary perspective. With a mixture of mourning for the old and the search for a new place in life, an intensive culture of remembrance emerged that would last even after exile. Complemented by the memories and stories of his children, Illies offers a fresh look at the Manns' lives during this eventful time. In this way, he not only sheds light on the individual fates, but also on the cultural legacy that the family left behind.