Before the onset of World War I, Thomas Mann's fiction delved into the conflict between artists and bourgeois society, a theme he later revisited amid the political turmoil in Germany.

Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929, shortly before he went into exile due to his opposition to National Socialism following Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933.

His novel The Magic Mountain, published in 1924, solidified Mann's international literary reputation, leading to translations in various languages, including English in 1927.

Throughout his career, Mann's writings consistently explored the relationship between the artist and society, a theme that became even more pronounced during his time in America.

From 1932 to 1945, Mann contributed to The Yale Review, marking his transformation into a significant antifascist voice and a symbol of a cosmopolitan German identity.

In a controversial stance, Mann claimed that all Germans bore guilt for the rise of Nazism, reflecting the complexities of his connection to his homeland.

After living in exile in Switzerland until 1938, Mann moved to America, where his work was surprisingly embraced despite his belief it was intended for a German audience.

Mann argued that the bourgeois ethos of disciplined work was essential for artists to channel their potentially destructive impulses into creative endeavors.

His portrayal of Goethe in a 1932 essay for The Yale Review depicted the poet as a modern, anxious figure, rather than the romanticized genius often celebrated.

During his 1938 address at the dedication of the Thomas Mann Collection at Yale, he described the artist's role as one of challenging social norms and critiquing the status quo.

Mann's final contribution to The Yale Review in 1945, titled 'Germany and the Germans,' analyzed the roots of Nazi ideology within German culture, connecting it to enduring romantic and pessimistic traditions.

In his 1918 book, Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man, Mann defended German culture against Western democratic ideals, showcasing his conservative perspective during World War I.