Tillmann Lahme on Thomas Mann’s Hidden Life

Tillmann Lahme is not sure he would have wanted to meet Thomas Mann. He fears the German writer might have seemed boring. Yet Lahme has written a compelling biography of Mann that became a bestseller and was nominated this year for Germany’s essay prize.

The biography places unusual emphasis on Mann’s sexuality and the way it shaped his writing. A Greek edition, titled “A Life,” will be published by Metaichmio in late November, translated by Emi Vaikousi. Interest in Mann has already grown this year, following the release of his copyrights and the arrival of Paweł Pawlikowski’s film “The Island,” which opens in Greek cinemas this week.

Lahme has not yet seen the film, but he questions its historical accuracy. Erika Mann did not accompany her father on his journey, he says. She had refused to return to Germany and had argued fiercely with him, trying to stop him from going. Thomas Mann travelled with his wife, Katia. Klaus Mann’s suicide also took place before the journey, not during it. In reality, Lahme says, even his son’s death did not prevent Thomas Mann from travelling, and he missed the funeral.

“

I was at Katia’s without finding satisfaction.

The film presents Klaus’s death as something that brings Erika and Thomas Mann together during the trip. Lahme also says Thomas Mann visited both West and East Germany and faced sharp criticism for appearing to court a totalitarian regime under Soviet rule. He rejected calls to address Buchenwald, where opponents of the new system were being held, and did not want to see the political staging surrounding his visit.

Lahme’s biography ends with two black pages containing passages censored from Mann’s diaries. One recurring line reads, “I was at Katia’s without finding satisfaction,” alongside numerous homoerotic references. Lahme says the family, editors and researchers removed material that might have affected readers’ awe of one of world literature’s major writers. “I wanted it to upset readers. And it did. There were angry reactions,” he says. The black pages are less an invitation to read than an image of censorship.

“

I wanted it to upset readers. And it did. There were angry reactions.