Profile
Thomas Mann: The Chronicler of Modern Germany
Nobel Prize-winning German novelist, born in Lübeck on 6 June 1875
Thomas Mann was born on 6 June 1875 in Lübeck into a wealthy merchant family. After his father's death, the family moved to Munich, where he began writing.
His first novel, Buddenbrooks (1901), was an immediate success. Death in Venice (1912) and The Magic Mountain (1924) confirmed his reputation, and in 1929 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
He left Germany after the Nazis came to power, living in Switzerland and then the United States. During the Second World War, he recorded anti-Nazi radio talks for the BBC, broadcast to German listeners.
Career highlights
- 1875Born in Lübeck: into a merchant family
- 1901Buddenbrooks: his first novel
- 1912Death in Venice: celebrated novella
- 1924The Magic Mountain: major novel of ideas
- 1929Nobel Prize in Literature
- 1933Leaves Germany: goes into exile
- 1940Wartime broadcasts: speeches to Germany via the BBC
- 1947Doctor Faustus: novel reflecting on Germany's catastrophe
- 1955Dies in Zurich: aged 80
Did you know?His brother Heinrich and several of his children, including Klaus and Erika, were also well-known writers.