Golo Mann

Golo Mann (27 March 1909 – 7 April 1994), born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann, was a popular historian, essayist and writer. He was the third child of the novelist Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann.

Golo Mann, originally a Bavarian German, held Czechoslovakian citizenship from 1936 on, American 1943–68, Swiss from 1968 on and additionally German since 1976.

Life

Mann was born in Munich. As a child, he pronounced his first name as Golo, and this name was adopted. He had an elder sister, Erika Mann, an elder brother, Klaus Mann, and three younger siblings, Monika, Elisabeth and Michael.

In her diary his mother describes him in his early years as sensitive, nervous and frightened. His father hardly concealed his disappointment and rarely mentioned the son in his diary. Golo Mann in turn described him later: "Indeed he was able to radiate some kindness, but mostly it was silence, strictness, nervousness or rage." Among his siblings he was most tightly connected with Klaus, whereas he disliked the dogmatism and radical views of his sister Erika.