Residency Program

In 1942, while living in exile in California, Thomas Mann built a house in Pacific Palisades/Los Angeles which was to become a venue for artistic creation and intellectual exchange between scientists, artists, and intellectuals who addressed the most pressing questions of this distinctive time period.

The Federal Foreign Office acquired the property in November of 2016 with the expressed purpose of reviving it as a place for contemplation and discussion about common challenges of our time. At the same time, the house serves as a place of commemoration of the history of exile in all its forms.

In the spirit of Thomas Mann, recipients of the Thomas Mann Fellowships will initiate debates about fundamental global issues confronting society both now and in the future.

The residency program at the Thomas Mann House is funded by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, as well as by the Berthold Leibinger Foundation, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Foundation and the Robert Bosch Foundation.