Mann, Thomas

comprising six autograph letters and four typed letters signed, INCLUDING A REMARKABLE LETTER SUMMONING ZWEIG TO TAKE UP HIS PEN IN DEFENCE OF GERMAN CULTURE, outlining his plan to enlist the services of around 24 exiled German intellectuals, including Lotte Lehman, Heinrich Mann, Erwin Schrödinger and Franz Werfel, to contribute articles for a series of brochures intended to raise the morale of Germans in Germany, stating that they are duty bound to use their influence on the Germans, that only when the latter finish with Hitler can war be avoided; in other letters Mann discusses his 'Goethe-Novelle' [Lotte in Weimar], his lecture 'Richard Wagner und der Ring des Nibelungen', as well as Zweig's biography Maria Stuart and monograph Castellio gegen Calvin ("...es ist eine Sensation..."), asks for advice in the matter of an offer of a film option he has received for his 'biblical novel' from screenwriter Lajos Biro of London Film Productions, makes arrangments for a meeting, and refers to Hitler and Harold Nicolson, quoting a remark of the latter ("The German character is one of the finest and most inconvenient developments of human nature")

...Nur wenn die Deutschen mit Hitler ein Ende machen, kann der Krieg vermieden werden. Nur wenn, sollte er nicht vermieden werden, die Deutschen vor der Niederlage dem Regime die Gefolgschaft verweigern, dürfen wir auf einen Frieden hoffen, der nicht die Keime des neuen Krieges schon wieder in sich trägt. Die Deutschen müssen zur Raison gebracht werden, und wer sollte es tun, solange wir schweigsam bleiben?...



19 pages, various sizes, three on postcards and two on correspondence cards, three autograph envelopes, Küsnacht and Princeton, 1934-1940

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An illuminating collection of letters between two great figures of twentieth-century German literature: Thomas Mann, the undisputed leader of German-language writers in exile during the pre-war and war years, and Stefan Zweig, the multi-faceted embodiment of a vanished European world, who, in the 1920s and 30s, was one of the world's most widely read authors. Sadly, while Mann returned to Europe from America after the war, in 1952, Zweig, overcome with despair for the future of civilization, took his own life in Brazil in February 1942.