“We now live in a modern house. We like it nonetheless.”

The Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades:

In 1941, Thomas Mann commissioned the architect Julius Ralph Davidson, one of the leading representatives of Californian modernism, to build a new house on San Remo Drive in the hills of Pacific Palisades. He lived there with Katia Mann from February 1942 until his return to Europe in 1952.

In his study, he wrote, among other works, the fourth volume of the *Joseph* tetralogy, *Doctor Faustus*, and *The Holy Sinner*. From this Californian exile, Thomas Mann also addressed “German listeners!” through his BBC radio broadcasts and engaged deeply in his writings with questions about the roots of fascism, democratic renewal, freedom, migration, and exile.

Since its reopening in 2018 as a residency and venue for intellectual exchange, the Thomas Mann House remains committed to this spirit. The lecture presents the history of the house from its origins to its present-day role.