Thomas Mann House Events Archive
November 9, 2026
Exhibition "Democracy Will Win!" at Utah State University
Utah State University
Information
Join the Department of World Languages & Cultures at Utah State University for the traveling exhibition "Thomas Mann: Democracy Will Win!"
The exhibition commemorates the series of lecture tours that the Nobel Laureate conducted throughout the Unites States from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. The first of these tours began at Northwestern University, where more than 4000 people came to hear him speak about the fundamental reasons for liberal democracy. “It is a terrible spectacle when the irrational becomes popular,” Mann said in a speech at the Library of Congress in 1943, and he drew on his considerable powers of thought and expression to counter the sources of this spectacle through his confident motto: “Democracy will win.”
The like-named exhibit is divided into two parts: the first charts the changes in Mann’s political views, while the second connects Mann’s lectures tours to current political situations in both Europe and the United States.
Partner
The traveling exhibition Thomas Mann: Democracy Will Win! is a collaboration between the Department of World Languages & Cultures at the Utah State University, and the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles.
55 Voices for Democracy | Düzen Tekkal
YouTube
Info
"Open societies in Europe and the United States face a crisis of safety and identity. We must know what we stand for and what we are ready to defend.” In her address, human rights activist, author, and filmmaker Düzen Tekkal appeals to the courage of taking action, seeking justice, and keeping memory culture alive in democratic societies. She goes on, “because freedom needs voices. Democracy needs courage. And memory needs people who are ready to act. Let us turn memory into action and survival into a future.”
Düzen Tekkal is a human rights activist, author, and filmmaker. Together with her sisters, she founded the human rights organization HÁWAR.help e.V., which is primarily involved in projects for girls and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Germany. In her book and the educational movement of the same name, German Dream, she campaigns for a value-based Germany and against extremism and inhumanity.
The series is presented by the Thomas Mann House in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk and the Los Angeles Review of Books. For more information visit http://vatmh.org/55voices
About the Speaker
Düzen Tekkal is a human rights activist, author, and filmmaker. Together with her sisters, she founded the human rights organization HÁWAR.help e.V., which is primarily involved in projects for girls and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Germany. In her book and the educational movement of the same name, German Dream, she campaigns for a value-based Germany and against extremism and inhumanity. Düzen Tekkal is a 2026 Thomas Mann House Fellow.