“Being brothers means: being little boys together in a dignifiedly provincial corner of the fatherland and making fun of that dignified corner together. It means: growing up and aging individually, but always in organic connection and thought of each other, and through the work, ‘finding each other again from individual existence, looking at each other smilingly.’”
With these words, Thomas Mann congratulated his older brother Heinrich on his 60th birthday.
The Mann brothers’ journey is one of shared origins and diverging paths. They grew up in Lübeck and spent formative years together in Italy, but their literary careers unfolded in stark contrast. Thomas Mann achieved instant fame with his family saga Buddenbrooks, while Heinrich Mann’s works, such as Hunt for Love, leaned into the eroticism of décadence but garnered less recognition. This difference in tone and approach led to tensions between them, with Thomas once lamenting his brother’s writing as “perpetually slack” and “constantly smelling of flesh,” adding: “Only monkeys and other southerners can completely ignore morality.”
During World War I, their ideological rift deepened. Heinrich praised French civilization, democracy, and progress, aligning himself with Western ideals, while Thomas turned to Russian spirituality, Dostoyevsky, and the idea of a “conservative revolution”—a term later co-opted by right-wing extremists.
Despite their conflicts, the brothers’ paths converged again during their shared exile in the United States, where they united against National Socialist barbarity. Thomas supported Heinrich financially, and their correspondence reflected a reconciliation of sorts, although some personal disagreements—like Thomas’s disapproval of Heinrich’s romantic choices—persisted.
This event delves into the fascinating and tumultuous relationship between Thomas and Heinrich Mann, offering unique insights into their personal and creative lives while reflecting the cultural and political history of early 20th-century Germany.
