The Magician

Tackling themes like the rise of fascism and the clash between modernity and tradition, The Magician is profoundly informed by the changing historical landscape of Germany. The first major change occurred before Thomas was born, when Germany was unified as an empire in 1871 under Wilhelm I, King of Prussia. While the subsequent period was one of rapid industrial development and scientific and artistic flowering, concerns arose about Prussia dominating the other provinces, such as Bavaria. In The Magician, Heinrich expresses concerns that the unification led to the marginalization of rural and folk cultures.

As Germany’s industrial prowess grew, a push toward militaristic and colonial expansion began. By the early 1900s, Germany forged important alliances with the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman (Turkish) empires to become the third-largest colonial power in the world after France and England. Simultaneously, fears grew about England, France, and Russia allying to check Germany’s rise. In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by a Serb nationalist. Since many believed that the Russians backed the Serb nationalists, Germany began to build its naval presence in case of an eventual attack. The chain of events culminated in World War I, in which Germany fought against most of the other major European powers. The war ended in 1918 with Germany’s defeat and the end of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires.

As King Wilhelm II abdicated the throne, the political future of Germany was plunged into turmoil. In winter 1918, far-left factions revolted in many parts of Germany, even forming a government in Bavaria called the Bavarian Soviet Republic, headquartered in Munich. In The Magician, the Munich communist faction targets the wealthy, including Katia’s parents. Thomas is spared because of his contact with fellow writers, many of whom are part of the new government.

The German army dismantled the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919. Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles with the allied powers, promising to disarm and to pay the allies reparations. The country became a democratic republic under the new Weimar Constitution, and the Social Democratic Party came into power. The 1920s were a relatively peaceful period in German life, as German music and literature again flourished. At the same time, the economy was in decline, and the punitive terms of the Versailles Treaty hurt German pride. In this context, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the Nazi party) arose, promising to restore Germany to its former political and economic glory. Though the Nazi party initially seemed to oppose capitalism and favor working-class citizens, its major planks were soon revealed as anti-communism and antisemitism.

Citizens like Thomas initially dismissed the Nazi party as a fringe group of radicals but were shocked when the Nazis won the popular vote in 1932. Adolf Hitler, the party’s leader, was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Using the Reichstag fire as a pretext, Hitler hunted down most of his political opponents. He soon enabled the cabinet to pass laws without the consent of the parliament. The absolute power the Nazis now enjoyed enabled them to kill all opposition and embark on their pogrom against Jews in Europe. Jewish citizens, as well as communists, queer people, and racial minorities were forced out of their homes into ghettos, and finally into labor and concentration camps. Given Thomas’s criticism of the Nazis and Katia’s Jewish origins, Thomas and Katia were lucky to out of Germany in 1933 during the Reichstag fire. They never permanently returned to their homeland. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and World War II broke out, the Manns were living in Princeton, New Jersey, in the US.