Germans raise petition to save Thomas Mann’s LA villa

Germans raise petition to save Thomas Mann’s LA villa

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norman lebrecht

August 30, 2016

A petition has been opened in Germany, appealing to Chancellor Angela Merkel to find ways and means to stop the planned demolition of the house where Mann lived in exile during and after the Second World War.

It’s not quite clear how Mrs Merkel is supposed to intervene in the commercial affairs of a foreign country, but one of the petitioners quotes Mann as saying ‘Wo ich bin, ist Deutschland – Germany is where I am’ – so maybe she can claim it as historic German territory.

Others point out that a Berlin architect, Julian Ralph Davidson, designed the villa.

Sign here.

Almost 1,000 have done so already.

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Comments

  • Cyril Blair says:

    There is no “planned demolition” – it’s just that the house is on the market, the land is hugely more valuable than the house, and therefore whoever buys the property will most likely tear it down and build something five times as big.

    The sale price dropped $3 million between May and June (it’s now being offered at $14,995,000), so it might make sense to wait for it to drop a little more.

    http://la.curbed.com/2016/8/16/12504406/thomas-mann-pacific-palisades-home-teardown

    https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ca/pacific-palisades/1550-san-remo-dr/pid_12136142/

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