Events
All five houses of the network regard themselves as spaces of debate about the life and work of Thomas Mann.
What role does Thomas Mann’s lifelong concerns play in today’s world? In what way can the Mann family’s literature and political attitudes provoke us to think about the pressing issues of our times? Migration and exile, gender issues or political engagement and democracy are only a few of the topics that are of great relevance to the present day. Our houses regularly organize a series of digital and analog events on these topics and beyond. Visit our calendar of events and exchange ideas with us within an international context.
Nordic Modern - 100 Years of Nordic Week. Thomas Mann's course correction
Nordic Modern - 100 Years of Nordic Week. Thomas Mann's course correction
Lübeck
The special exhibition deals with two turning points in Thomas Mann's life. In terms of content, it deepens the Buddenbrooks exhibition in the Behnhaus on a biographical and political level. The occasion is the lecture Goethe and Tolstoy held in Lübeck in 1921 for the "Nordic Week". The "Nordic Week" takes place exactly 100 years ago in September 1921. It is a large city festival with numerous cultural, scientific and sporting events and is intended to revive trade relations with the Baltic region and Scandinavia after the First World War.
Thomas Mann's lecture becomes a decisive turning point in the writer's relationship with his hometown. Whereas Lübeck had previously tended to reject Thomas Mann, it now celebrated him as a son of the city. The speech also marks the beginning of Mann's political transformation from enthusiastic war supporter to advocate of the Weimar Republic and opponent of the emerging National Socialism. This political course correction is also evident in his relationship to the "cardinal points." The focus is no longer on the Nordic as opposed to the Southern sphere, but on a balancing center.
Connections between Thomas Mann and various works of art from the Behnhaus collection form a thematic arc to the 100th anniversary of the Behnhaus.
The special exhibition will be on view at the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus, Königstraße 9-11, Lübeck, from September 1, 2021. More information about your visit is available here.
In the context of the special exhibition, a Thomas Mann evening will take place on September 4, the occasion being the centenary of his lecture "Goethe and Tolstoy".
Before your visit, you can get a first impression of the special exhibition here. You can access our eGuide here. There you will find a tour complementing the special exhibition.