Grrman Life and Ixttrrs 45:3 July 1992

OOl(i-8777 $2.00

ARTISTS, EPHEBES, AND BROWNSHIRTS:

THOMAS MANN’S CRITICAL INSIGHT INTO T H E 1934 PURGE
GERALD
GILLESPIE

Thomas Mann projcctcd aspccts of himsclf both into thc narrator of Mario
und der Zuuberer (1930), a humanc fathcr, and into thc dark scduccr Cipolla
who, in his hypnotic usc of cycs and voicc, borc uncanny rcscmblancc to
Hitler.’ As thc tragic dccade of thc thirties closcd, thc now cxilcd anti-Nazi
writer confrontcd his shadow openly and scornfully in an cssay cntitlcd
Bruder Hiller (1939). This idcntification was all thc morc daring in thc light
of thc Joseph tetralogy, bcgun in 1926, a ‘romancc of thc soul’ through
which Mann hoped to countcr thc Nazis’ abuse of thc human hungcr for
myth. His rising intcrcst in Frcud during thc latc 1920s bctokcncd his
concern to apply psychological knowlcdgc in ordcr to harncss thc powcr of
myth for positivc cnds in his ‘Art von intcllcktualisicrtcm Epos . . . mit
humoristischcr Thcologic’, as hc cxplaincd in a lcttcr of 3 May 1929 to
Charles du Bos:

Diesen Augenblick komme ich von einem Aufsatz iiber ‘Die Stellung Sigmund
Freuds in der modernen Geistesgeschichte’, einer ausladenenden Abhandlung
iiber das Problem der Revolution, voller padagogischer hbsichten, und
namentlich derjenigen dienend, die psychoanalytische Bewegung als die ein-
zige Erscheinungsform des modernen Anti-Rationalismus erkennen zu lassen,
welche keinerlei Handhabe bietet zu reaktionarem Millbrauch.’

Through the very different stories of thc Italian waitcr Mario and thc
young Hcbrcw protagonists in Die Ceschichten Jaakobs (1933) and Der junge
Joseph (1934), Mann was revisiting, among othcr things, a dccp problem
that he had probcd in Der Tod in Venedig (1913) in tcrms of Aschcnbach’s
homocrotic attraction to the bcautiful boy Tadzio: thc rcscmblancc bctwccn
thc wayward artist and the criminal as ‘cxccptions’, and potcntial thrcats,
to normal life. Around thc age of twcnty-fivc, Mann had startcd distancing
himself from his own homoscxual oricntation; he marricd in 1904 and
undertook raising a family.’ But scxual ambivalcncc sharpcncd his scnsc
for hidden dimensions in personal and cultural passions. Whcn thc dcccnt

’ Mann’s view of Hitlrr’s srdurtivr trrhniqurs as a political lradrr and a srxual connection is
imprrssive when mrasurrd against thr first prorrssional attrmpts to analysr thr phrnonirna, such
as \Valter C. Langrr’s serrrt wartime study for thr Oficr of Stratrgic Srrvirrs ( l a m , Crntral
lnlelligenrr Agrnry), rrlrasrd alirr thirty yrars undrr thr titlr The .Ifin$ oJAdoorJ Hiller, Srw York
1972.
‘Thomas Mann, Briej /&/936, ed. Erika Mann, Frankfurt a . M . 1961. pp. 291 f.
T h e most sympathrtir arrount is by Grrhard Hirlr, .I~iinneru’eihlirhkprl: Zur Hornoicxunliliil hci Kl0u.r
und Thomas Monn, Frankfurt a . M . 1988. Hark rxaminrs T. Mann’s progrrss toward fullrr intrgration
in the traditional human family as an ovrrarrhing paradigm, and contrasts thr tragic casr or K.
Mann.
204 T H O M A S MANX’S INSIGHT IN‘1‘0 T H E 1934 PURGE

working man Mario dcfcnds his own intcgrity and lovc by shooting Cipolla,
our sympathy is solicitcd by thc Gcrman narrator, as a husband and fathcr,
for Mario. Mario cmcrgcs as a virtual son, to bc sharcd spiritually. This
kind of justification of ‘lifc’ against thc dcadlincss of ‘art’ rccalls Tonio
Krogcr’s dccision, in thc novclla namcd aftcr him (1902), to dcdicatc
himsclf, as an artist-outsidcr, to thc wondrous vitality hc may only look at
but not tampcr with. As Mann intcrprcts thc lcgcnd of Abraham and Isaac
in Die Ceschichfen Jaakobs, thc archaic sacrifice of thc first-born son by thc
fathcr is ovcrcomc in a crucial stcp toward thc cstablishmcnt of a ncw lovc
rclationship with Cod in a phallic cult.’ This spiritualiscd malc bonding
with thc Lord acquircs passionatc charactcr in Jacob’s homocrotic drcam-
wrcstling with thc angcl and blossoms through his lovc for his androgynous
son Joscph. Undcr thc unfolding patriarchal covcnant, thc rolc of thc choscn
son as mcdiator-saviour for his pcoplc cxpands. Thc channclling of thc
powcr of thc mothcr and of lifc through a spiritually clcct son in thcJoseph
tctralogy stands in contrast to thc modcrn casc of cultural failurc in Der
Tod in Venedig. Aschcnbach, who has too long rcprcsscd thc Dionysian, falls
into psychic irnbalancc, and is attractcd by thc abyss that lurks bchind thc
lurc of bcauty.5
Of Mann’s diarics bcforc 1933, only thosc from Scptcmbcr 1918 to
Dcccmbcr 1921 havc survivcd, but thc prcscrvcd cntrics arc invaluablc for
glimpscs into thc artist’s complcx scntimcnts and idcas at a timc whcn hc
was going through an important inncr mctamorphosis, moving bcyond his
political and cultural thinking of thc Eefrachlungen to advocacy of libcral
dcrnocracy. This cvolution, ovcrlapping with his rcturn to work on Der
Zauberberg, occurrcd against thc backdrop of thc communist rcvolution in
Russia and thc postwar disordcrs in Ccrmany. Amidst thc crisis of thc
short-livcd rcvolution in Munich, although hc acccptcd thc cnd of thc old
ordcr, Mann was acutcly conscious of ‘Mcinc Zwcifcl und mcin Abschcu
vor cincr Tyrannis dcr matcrialistisch-aufklarcrischcn sogcn. Prolctaricr-
Kultur’ (TB 15.IV. 19).” Hc rccoilcd from thc ‘wcltgcfahrlichcn ckstatischcn
Extrcmismus. Man habc in cincn Abgrund gcblickt’ (TB 5.V.19). For
Mann, a propcr rcsponsc had to transccnd parochial limits: ‘Dic Entcntc
ist hasscnswcrt, abcr das Abcndland ist vor dcn Grcucln dcr Volkcrwan-
dcrung von untcn zu rcttcn’. By latc 1919, thc impcrativc of struggling
against a rcsurgcncc of barbarism had hclpcd nudgc Mann into thc famcd
cosmopolitan humanism of his middlc and latc ycars.
Thc tcmpcramcntal conscrvativc who spcaks hcrc against totalitarian
impulscs in thc privilcgcd forum of his own mind is kccnly awarc of his

’ For a drtailrd study of hlannian homorrotic palriarchy, ( . ~ n s u IG~r o y r Bridgrs, T/ion~ns.\faiiji’r

Josrph und srinr Briidrr: A Rtrihnis/ I?eu oJ/hr fhnllir T/itolnye oJ/hc Old Tr-r/nnim/,fovlhronling i n
thr Stanford Grrman Studirs scrirs, Brrnr 1992.
‘-I Srr Grrald Gillrspir, ‘Thr Ways of Hrrnirs in thr \\”Irks nf Tlicinias Mann’, in Sins utrd Srntbol:

Fs.rt.rsl.rrhriJIfur Joseph f . Slrclkn zum 60. Ctbur/r/ug, rd. Karl Konrad Polhrim, Brrnr 1987, pp. 371-85.
Rrfrrrnrrs by datr aftcr thr ahbrrvialion TB arr to thr Tagsbiirhcr, rd. Prtrr dr ~lrndclssohn,
Frankfurt a.M. 1977-80.
 T H O M A S MANX’S INSIGHT IN‘I’O T H E 1934 PURGE 205

psychological roots: ‘Es untcrlicgt fur mich sclbst kcincm Zwcifcl, dan
“auch” dic Befruchlungen cin Ausdruck mcincr scxucllcn Invcrticrthcit sind’
(TB 17.IX.19). Thc grim lcssons of Der Tod in Venedig sccm to havc
inoculatcd its author; Mann clcarly is ablc to attach his own homocroticism
to a cultural idcalism that offcrs rcsistancc to thc manifcst barbarian rctro-
grcssion of thc twcnticth ccntury. What is startling during thc main pcriod
of work on Der Zuuberberg is Mann’s rcadincss to admit to himsclf that his
hctcroscxual rolc as husband and fathcr has bccn disturbcd (TB 14.1V.20)
and that he has fallcn in lovc with his own son, now a pcrfcct cphcbc (TB
17.X.20). H c cxpcricnccd such fcclings toward a varicty of young mcn in
thc samc agc rang^.^ Nonc thc Icss, Mann, ncaring sixty, fccls confidcnt
that ‘Bcim Joscph ist cs das Mcnschhcitlichc, das kommandicrt’ ( T B 1.1.35)
and is vcry clcar on thc diffcrcnce bctwccn his idcalisation of youth and
thcir corruption through thc Nazi myth and will to powcr:

Die Rebarbarisierung, die in antiken Zeiten durch primitive Volker von

auDen kam, willentlich als ‘Revolution’ vorgenommen, mit Hiilfe einer stark
vereinfachten Jugend . . .. Diese Revolution ruhmt sich ihrer Unblutigkeit, ist
aber dabei die haBerfillteste und mordlustigste, die je da war. (TB 20.1V.33)

It is not unrcasonablc to spcculatc that thc cruption of violcncc on thc

domcstic sccnc at thc cnd of World War I contributcd to triggcring a
dcstabilisation of Mann’s hard-won psychic cquilibrium and a flarc-up of
his intcrcst in idcal Aryan typcs likc his carlicr Hans Hanscn. That makcs
all thc morc rcmarkablc his protcst, in thc dislocation of cxilc, against thc
dchumanising activitics and pronounccmcnts of thc Nazis, whosc cxccsscs
hc idcntifics as a dangcrous cultural narcissism and links with homoscxu-
ality. Thc ncws of thc bloody purgc of spring 1934 - a mixturc of murdcrs
for simplc rcvcngc and a coup d’dui to consolidatc powcr - prompts Mann
to furthcr rcflcctions on thc Nazis’ manipulativc ‘filthy psychology’ (‘mit
drcckigcr Scclcnkundc’, T B 4.VII.34). Thcsc includc an insight into thc
carly ccntrality of hornoscxuality in thcir cult of blood. For today’s rcadcr,
a paragraph in an cntry on 5 August 1934, with its kcy Nictzschcan tcrm,
rcadily calls to mind Aschcnbach’s inncr surrcndcr to thc orgiastic ritcs in
his drcam in Vcnicc:

Die ganze national-sozialistische ‘Bewegung’ einschlielllich ihres Erweckers,

ist ein wahres Sich sielen des deutschen Gemutes in der mythischen Jauche.
Der ganze falsche und zeitverhunzte ‘Wiederkehr’-Charakterdieses Rummels
ist ein wahres Fressen fur ihren Wahrheitshall, ihre Gier nach Qualm und
Dunst -

A ronsidrrahlr list is rullrd from thr rrcord by Ignarr Frurrlichl, ’Thomas Slantl and Honiorroli-
rism’, Ominnir Rwicw, 57 (1982), 89-97. Frurrlichl also calalogurs many or thr ficlional nlaslis,
surh as frmalr rharactrrs, hrhind which Mann gavr rsprrssion 10 asprcls or his own homosrsual
rxprrirnrr.
206 THO.MAS MAWS INSIGHT 1x-m THE 1934 PURGE

Mann goes on to say, with a Nictzschc-likc distrust of Luthcr as a sccrct

agcnt of a negative mcdicval-Dionysian strcak in thc Germans:

Die ‘Wiederkehr’ ist insofern anzuerkennen, als der antirationale und antihu-
mane, auf Blut und Tragodie versessene Nationalsozialismus, dessen Frie-
densliebe ebenso lugenhaft ist wie sein Verleugnen einer anderen seiner
Wesentlichkeiten, der Homosexualitat, die tumultuose und blutige Rolle des
Luthertums wieder spielen wird.

Observing thc further coursc of cvcnts from cxilc, thc novclist contcmptu-
ously dismisscs thc Nazi attempt to co-opt Nictzschc as a spiritual forcrunncr
(TB 16.1.36) and comes to detect repugnant signs in thc Wagncr hcritagc
during a visit to thc composcr’s house ncar Luccrnc: ‘Elcmcntc dcr Furcht-
barkcit und dcs Hitlcrtums dcutlich hcrvortrctcnd, wcnn auch cbcn nur
latcnt und vorgcbildet, vom pathctischcn Kitsch bis zur deutschcn Knabcn-
licbc’ (TB 13.X.37).
Mann’s disgust with thc Nazis is complcx. O n thc onc hand, hc rcproachcs
thc Germans as a pcoplc who arc relapsing into a lowcr, bestial narcissism
and connects thcir collcctivc hysteria with an immature homoscxual bonding
at thr militant core and sick scntimcntalisation of youth in thc gcncral
public. On the othcr hand, he is appallcd at Hitlcr’s cynical manipulation,
first indulging his followers’ grccd, lusts, and sclf-aggrandiscmcnt in ordcr
to build a ruthlcss machine, and thcn cxploiting thc rampant homoscxuality
in Rohm’s faction as a prctcxt for a moral clcansing of thc ranks. Mann ncvcr
bclicvcd that homoeroticism could or should bc climinatcd; hc continucd to
trcat homocrotic rclations and scnsitivc topics such as inccst and androgyny
in his latcr works, and his daring ‘pancrotic’ crcdo only attained its full
potential in his final novcl Felix Krull.” Thc burning question for him was
whether cros would bc turned against humane intcrcsts or scrvc civilisation
as a humanising force. In the final analysis, Tonio Krogcr’s vicw triumphed
in Thomas Mann’s heart.

” One of the more intrresting treatmrnts of‘pancroticism’, traccablr in thr topirs of incest, androgyny,
and homosrxuality from C+llsungenbluf to Fclix Knrll, is Yrchthild Curtius, Ero/i.rrhe Phanlarirn bti
Thomas M a n n , Frankfurt a.M. 1984. - Wr ran ronsidrr thr rrcurrrncr of thr androgynic rphrbr in
Mann’s works, with his plentiful allusions to trratmcnts of this figurr from antiquity 10 thr prrsrnk,
to constitute one of his strongest claims ofadhrrrncr to Europran ‘tradition’. In Sexual hrconac: Ar/
and Deradcnre Jrom NeJcrlili lo Emily Difkiwon, Nrw Havrn 1990, Camillr Paglia has trdcrd thr
importanre of thr ‘beautiful boy’, thr androgynr, and thrir corrrlativrs as fiprrs and thrmatic
nexusrs through whom realms are bridged and artistic univrrsality is rnablrd.