Notable Lesbians
This week’s Notable Lesbian is:
Erika Julia Hedwig Mann
November 9, 1905 – August 27, 1969
Erika Mann 
was the eldest child of novelist Thomas Mann. She was born in Munich and had what was considered to be a “privileged” childhood. In 1932 she published the first of many children’s books. Shortly thereafter she became involved in several lesbian affairs in her private life. Her first noted affair was with actress Pamela Wedekind, whom she met in Berlin, and was engaged with her brother Klaus. She later became involved with director Therese Giehse, and journalists Betty Cox and Annemarie Schwarzenbach, whom she served with as a war correspondent during World War II. As was later written, her relationships were both sexually passionate and intellectually stimulating. Mann enjoyed being in the company of women who were intelligent, and with whom she could converse with on any number of international topics.
Interesting tid bit:
In 1938, she and her brother Klaus reported on the Spanish Civil War, and her book School for Barbarians about Nazi Germany educational system has been published. The following year, they published Escape to Life, a book about famous German exiles. During the war, she was active as a journalist in England. After World War II, Mann was one of the few women who covered the Nuremberg Trials. Following the war, both Klaus and Erika came under an FBI investigation into their political views and rumored homosexuality. In 1949, becoming increasingly depressed and disillusioned over post-war torn Germany, Klaus Mann committed suicide. This event devastated Erika.
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More Notable Lesbians
If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, e-maill me at lyndsey.darcangelo@451press.net or use the contact form above and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.
*Some information provided by Wikipedia.com
notable lesbians, famous lesbians, Thomas Mann, Erika Mann
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