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Heinrich Mann, a German novelist and elder brother of Nobel laureate Thomas Mann, is best known in the English-speaking world for his novel "Professor Unrat," which was adapted into the successful 1930 film "Der Blaue Engel" ("The Blue Angel"). Once highly regarded in German literary circles, many of Mann's novels and nearly all of his essays remain untranslated and unfamiliar to most anglophone readers. His work is notable for depicting a society shaped by authoritarian rule struggling to establish and maintain democracy.
Born in Lübeck on March 27, 1871, Mann was the eldest child of Senator Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann and Julia da Silva-Bruhns. Coming from a patrician family with roots in grain merchandising, Mann began his writing career as an essayist with conservative views but eventually became a prominent advocate for democracy and socialism.
Mann attended a private preparatory school until 1889. After leaving school, he apprenticed with a Dresden bookseller but was unsuccessful. He relocated to Berlin in 1891, where he began publishing his work. In 1892, he contracted tuberculosis and received treatment at a Swiss sanatorium. Mann published his first novel in 1893 and achieved financial independence following his father's death.
In 1894, Mann moved with his family from Berlin to Munich and became editor of "Das zwanzigste Jahrhundert." Preferring life in France and Italy, he spent much of his time there until World War I broke out.
Mann's early novels satirized the German bourgeoisie’s resistance to democratic ideals. His most famous work, 1904’s "Professor Unrat" ("Professor Garbage"), portrays the moral, social, and physical decline of a pompous prep school teacher obsessed with a nightclub singer. Josef von Sternberg’s 1930 film adaptations, "Der Blaue Engel" and "The Blue Angel," propelled Marlene Dietrich to stardom as the captivating chanteuse Lola Lola.
His 1912 novel "Der Untertan" ("The Patrioteer") centers on Diederich Hessling, an amoral, manipulative businessman who exploits patriotism for personal gain and ultimately becomes a reflection of the Kaiser. This critique of prewar Prussian militarism and nationalism was banned by the German government during World War I. Through a cast of grotesque characters, Mann highlighted the moral weakness and lack of accountability among the bourgeoisie under Kaiser Wilhelm II. As a youth, Hessling bullied the only Jewish student at his school, believing he represented the entire Christian community of Netzig and cherishing the collective responsibility it entailed.
Mann’s 1915 essay on French naturalist novelist Émile Zola satirized Germany and Prussian militarism, attributing World War I to capitalist exploitation and plutocracy. This essay strained his relationship with his brother Thomas, who held more conservative views at the time and supported Germany’s involvement in the war. Thomas Mann responded with his own critical essay in 1918 and maintained that artists should remain apolitical. The brothers’ estrangement was temporary, and Thomas eventually embraced many of Heinrich’s perspectives.
As his career advanced, Mann embraced the educational potential of art. During and after the revolutionary period of 1918-19, he dedicated himself to promoting democratic values through his writing. He gained popularity during the Weimar Republic, especially after the ban on "Der Untertan" was lifted in 1918 and the novel was republished to acclaim. Along with "Die Armen" ("The Poor," 1917) and "Der Kopf" ("The Chief," 1925), "Der Untertan" forms Mann’s "Das Kaiserreich" ("The Empire") trilogy.
The Prussian government appointed Mann to the Academy of Arts in Berlin, where he was elected president of the Poetry Section in 1931. In 1933, he published "Der Hass" ("Hate"), a novel exploring the destructive hatred fostered by fascism that could lead to civilization’s downfall. After the Nazis seized power, Mann was removed from his position and declared persona non grata due to his critical stance on German authoritarianism, militarism, and nationalism.
Mann went into exile, first in Prague and then Nice, France. While residing on the Côte d'Azur, he wrote a novel about French King Henry IV, known as "Henry the Good," who promoted tolerance by ending France’s 16th-century religious wars through the Edict of Nantes, which granted Protestants freedom of worship.
Following the Nazi occupation of France, Mann fled on foot across the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain at age 69. From Spain, he emigrated to the United States, settling in Santa Monica, California with his second wife, Nelly Kroeger. Although friends secured a one-year contract for him at Warner Bros., his limited English proficiency hindered his success. After the contract ended, Mann faced financial difficulties, having lost his German and French readership and the royalties from European sales, becoming reliant on friends and family, including Thomas.
In California, Mann socialized with other German exiles, such as Bertolt Brecht. Despite this, he remained largely unknown in America, overshadowed by his brother’s fame. His personal struggles deepened when his mentally ill second wife committed suicide in 1944.
Mann published his autobiography in 1945. Shortly before his death, he accepted an invitation from East Germany to lead their reestablished Academy of Arts in East Berlin. However, he died in Santa Monica on March 12, 1950, before assuming the role. He was cremated, and his ashes were interred at the Academy in East Berlin.
