MANN, HEINRICH
Publié le 22/02/2012
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MANN, HEINRICH (1871–1950), writer; ruthlessly debunked the Kaiserreich's
rigid social structure. Born in Lu¨beck to a city senator and prosperous
businessman, he abandoned Gymnasium studies in 1889. Although he was determined
not to follow a business career, he appeased his father by apprenticing
as a bookseller in Dresden. But after he published stories in the Lu¨becker Zeitung,
he resolved to become a writer. In 1891, just before his father's death, he
forsook the apprenticeship to join the publishing house of Samuel Fischer.*
Contracting tuberculosis, he convalesced in Switzerland in 1892 and, after some
time in Italy, relocated to Munich in 1894.
Before World War I Mann published dramas, essays, short stories, and novels.
His 1905 novel Professor Unrat went largely unnoticed until it was filmed in
1930 as Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel); starring Emil Jannings* and Marlene
Dietrich,* the story emphasized the vices and hypocrisy of middle-class society.
A serialization of Der Untertan (Man of Straw), a devastating critique subtitled
A History of the Public Soul under Wilhelm II, was suspended upon the outbreak
of war; it was finally released in 1918. A 1915 essay on E ´ mile Zola that extolled
democratic France and the Enlightenment was not only censored but provoked
a painful rupture with his brother, Thomas Mann.* Underscoring the tradition
of political engagement among French intellectuals, Heinrich argued that Germany
was marked by a passivity that viewed intellect (Geist) and action as
contradictory entities.
The brothers' estrangement persisted until 1922, when Heinrich suffered acute
appendicitis and his anticipated death brought reconciliation. Since Walther
Rathenau's* murder also reconciled Thomas to the Republic, the sibling rapprochement
was melded by parallel political convictions. Thereafter the brothers
increasingly represented the political and moral conscience of Germany. Heinrich
was, meanwhile, forced to accustom himself to his younger brother's greater
fame; although he was prolific throughout the 1920s—he published fiction, social
criticism, and topical essays—Heinrich's writing failed to gain wide acclaim.
He served as President of the Prussian Academy of Arts during 1931–
1933, but it was Thomas who became the Nobel laureate.
An exponent of middle-class social democracy, Heinrich Mann fled to
France—his spiritual home—in February 1933. He was subsequently tireless on
both literary and political fronts. World War II forced flight to America, where
he struggled in Hollywood to maintain a career; his second wife, Nellie, committed
suicide in 1944. Although he was invited in 1947 to return to East Berlin
as President of the new East German Academy of Arts, his failing health kept
him in California.
Liens utiles
- Heinrich Mann (Sprache & Litteratur).
- Mann Heinrich, 1871-1950, né à Lübeck, écrivain allemand.
- Professeur Unrat [Heinrich Mann] - Fiche de lecture.
- Mann, Heinrich - littérature.
- Mann, Heinrich - écrivain.