As wildfires rip through the L.A. area, the Thomas Mann House and Villa Aurora, historic places of exile that now serve as cultural centres, are under threat.California has been battling raging wildfires around Los Angeles, leaving several people dead and many injured. The danger is especially acute in the Pacific Palisades area, where over 100,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. Germany, too, is worried about two of its landmark buildings in the Palisades, which hold great cultural significance: the Thomas Mann House and Villa Aurora.

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Villa Aurora, an elaborate Spanish-style villa from 1927 which was once an intellectual center for those who fled Nazi Germany, is especially at risk, as it is located in the immediate vicinity of the fires.

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"The images of the fires in Los Angeles shake us to the core" read a press release on the buildings' website. "Fortunately, all Fellows and employees of Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House are safe. The impact of the fires on our two houses will only become fully visible in the coming days. The situation in the immediate vicinity of Villa Aurora is especially dire and we must expect the worst."

According to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, over 1,000 buildings have been destroyed due to one fire, most of which are in the wealthy Palisades neighborhood of the city. A number of Hollywood figures and celebrities own homes in the Palesades, including Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston and Billy Crystal, among others.

Significant centers of dialogue

Both the Thomas Mann House and Villa Aurora are of great significance to Germany and serve as cultural centers and places of exchange between international fellows. The two buildings are run by a foundation but funded entirely by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

The German government bought the former US residence of Nobel Prize laureate, Thomas Mann, to save it from demolition back in 2016. It was meant to foster transatlantic dialogue as "a place for contemplation and discussion about common challenges of our time," while serving "as a place of commemoration of the history of exile in all its forms" according to the building's website.

The German government has expressed concern about the buildings' fate in the midst of the fires. "The destruction of these important cultural sites would be a cultural catastrophe. They are symbols of exile and the freedom of art," German culture minister Claudia Roth told the German Press Agency (dpa). Roth hopes that the two important cultural institutions can be preserved and continue their work.

Important places of exile

Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize-winning author of works including The Magic Mountain and Joseph and His Brothers fled to the US in 1938 after the Nazis came to power in Germany.

The villa in which Mann lived between 1942 and 1952, is located at the western edge of Los Angeles. While living in the US, Mann became a leading figure of exiled German intellectuals. "Germany is wherever I am," he told his supporters. In recent years thanks to funding by the German government, the building has hosted fellows from all over the world in a variety of disciplines.

Villa Aurora, a stunning architectural masterpiece, has a unique historical significance, as well. Marta and Lion Feuchtwanger, a Jewish couple who had to flee Nazi Germany, bought the property in 1943 and turned it into a center for refugees from Germany. They regularly held concerts, readings and receptions there. Among the famous names who came and went were playwright Bertolt Brecht, silent movie star Charlie Chaplin and composer Hanns Eisler.

Every year, Villa Aurora and the Thomas Mann House awards up to twenty grants to artists working in the visual arts, film, and literature for a three-month stay at Villa Aurora in Los Angeles. The fellowship stipulates that participants must be residents of Germany, although German citizenship is not required, meaning many hail from all over the world, working in a variety of creative disciplines — from film to literature.

Inspired by Andalusia

Architecturally speaking, Villa Aurora is a gem. It was built in 1927 as a 14-room Spanish Colonial Revival-style house of 6,700 square feet amid lush greenery. The home's original investor, Arthur A. Weber, traveled to Andalusia and was inspired by the Teruel Cathedral in the vicinity of Seville for his design. No expense was spared to make the building as "European" as possible — wooden ceilings were shipped from Spain, and a Renaissance fountain was imported from Tuscany. Local touches included redwood walls and Moorish-inspired tiles made by the Malibu Tile Company. The house was also equipped with the latest technical conveniences — it even had a theater organ that accompanied projections of silent movies, which were all the rage in the 1920s.

When the Feuchtwangers moved in in 1943 after fleeing the Nazis, reportedly the building was so run down they spent their first nights in the garden in sleeping bags, according to Marta Feuchtwanger's oral history. They eventually fixed the place up and made it a center for intellectuals in exile.

The Palisades fire that is raging through the seaside area between Malibu and Santa Monica has spread to more than 17,000 acres. It is considered to be the most destructive fire ever in Los Angeles County.

Edited by: Brenda Haas

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2025 06:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).