Biografía

Eldest daughter of Thomas Mann and Katia Mann.

Married W.H. Auden to obtain a British passport, which would allow her legally to leave Nazi Germany. She and Auden met for the first time at the wedding ceremony. Auden was well aware of the reason for the marriage, and had volunteered his services to facilitate her escape from the Nazis. She then went to live in the the United States, where her father resided after earlier fleeing Germany. Although she and Auden never lived together as man and wife, there was never a formal divorce between them.

Her first trip back to Europe was with her father in 1945/6.

In 1933, she founded an anti-Fascist cabaret called "Die Pfeffermühle" (The Peppermill) in Munich, but had to leave Germany some months later. It opened in Zurich again and became a rallying point for exiles.

Played by Sophie Rois on "Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman, Die" (2001) (mini)_ .