Katia Mann (born Katharina Hedwig Pringsheim; July 24, 1883–April 25, 1980) was the youngest child and only daughter (among four sons) of the German Jewish mathematician and artist Alfred Pringsheim and his wife Hedwig Dohm Pringsheim, who was an actress in Berlin before her marriage. Katia was also a granddaughter of the writer and women's right activist Hedwig Dohm. Her twin brother Klaus Pringsheim was a conductor, composer, music writer and music pedagog, active in Germany and Japan.
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Life
Katia was born in Feldafing near Munich. At age 21, in the fall of 1904, she aborted her studies of physics and mathematics on the request of her mother and aunt, to marry the writer Thomas Mann on February 11, 1905, in Munich. She continued her studies as a guest student for another four semesters. Katia and Thomas Mann had six children:
Children
| Name | Birth | Death |
|---|---|---|
| Erika | November 9, 1905 | August 27, 1969 |
| Klaus | November 18, 1906 | May 21, 1949 |
| Angelus Gottfried Thomas "Golo" | March 29, 1909 | April 7, 1994 |
| Monika | June 7, 1910 | March 17, 1992 |
| Elisabeth | April 24, 1918 | February 8, 2002 |
| Michael | April 21, 1919 | January 1, 1977 |
Issue
After the birth of Monika in 1910, Katia Mann became ill. The illness was first suspected to be tuberculosis, but later X-ray examinations could not find any physical changes. A psychosomatic illness was considered likely, especially after her own testimony. She spent several months in sanatoriums, which (according to her) strengthened her so that she could "stand it all". The sanatorium episode inspired Thomas Mann to his novel The Magic Mountain.
As the Mann family lived in exile, Katia Mann took care of her six children and husband. She was not just the good spirit of the family, but the connection point that kept them all together. She taught her gifted children, was her husband's manager, and was the family provider. She outlived three of her children (Klaus, Erika and Michael) and her husband. She died in Kilchberg near Zürich.
Thomas Mann made a sort of "portrait" of her in his novel Royal Highness.
Literature
- Michael Mann (editor): Katia Mann: My Unwritten Memoirs. (Katia Mann: Meine ungeschriebenen Memoiren.) Fischer TB. Frankfurt, 2000. ISBN 3-596-14673-9
- English edition: Katia Mann: Unwritten Memories, edited by Elisabeth Plessen and Michael Mann, translated by Hunter and Hildegarde Hannum. Alfred A. Knopf, 1975. ISBN 978-0394494036
- Inge and Walter Jens: Mrs. Thomas Mann. The life of Katharina Pringsheim. (Frau Thomas Mann. Das Leben der Katharina Pringsheim.) Rowohlt. Reinbek, 2003. ISBN 3-498-03338-7
- Kirsten Jüngling / Brigitte Roßbeck: Katia Mann. The Wizard's Wife. (Katia Mann. Die Frau des Zauberers.) Propyläen. 2003. ISBN 3-549-07191-4
See also
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