Berlin mayor concerned: Los Angeles fights with devastating fires!

Berlin mayor concerned: Los Angeles fights with devastating fires!

in Los Angeles currently devastating fires, which according to Berlin's ruling mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) represent one of the worst fire disasters in the city's history. In a current message, Wegner expressed his regret about the dangers that threaten the Thomas Mann-Haus and Villa Aurora, the former home of the famous writer Lion Feuchtwanger. These cultural institutions are important for transatlantic exchange and belong to the federal government. The employees of both houses were brought to safety, but the danger is still great. While the Thomas-Mann-Haus has so far remained intact, it looks darker for Villa Aurora-the exact damage situation cannot yet be estimated, as the operating association "Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House" reports.

The fires that affected large parts of the Los Angeles area were reinforced by long-lasting drought and the typical Santa-Ana winch. For at least eight months, there have been almost no rain in Southern California, which led to dried trees and shrubs. These circumstances favor the rapid spread of the flames. So far, at least five people have been killed, almost 2,000 buildings have been destroyed, and more than 100,000 residents had to leave their apartments. The local firefighters hope that the declining wind will make it easier to combat the flames.

The Villa Aurora and her inheritance

The Villa Aurora, which has established itself as an artist residence in the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles since 1995, is more than just a building; It is a living monument to German-Jewish exile culture. The writer Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta bought the Villa in 1943, and she quickly became a meeting point for prominent artists and intellectuals, including Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Bertolt Brecht and Charlie Chaplin. Today the villa is both through the "Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e.V." in Berlin as well as through the "Friends of Villa Aurora Inc." operated in Los Angeles. The institution promotes cultural encounters and offers scholarships for artists who are pursued in their home countries to remind of the history of German emigration in the 1930s.

Although the current situation is critical, the hope that Villa Aurora and the Thomas Mann House will survive the flames. As the association determines, the first signs show that parts of the facility could possibly be preserved from the destruction. The need for support and financial means is high to maintain the historical sites and to keep the cultural traditions alive.

rbb24 reported on the current fire cadastrophe and the situation of the endangered cultural sites, the history of Villa Aurora as art residence and part of the cultural memory in Los Angeles in this wikipedia-article is examined in more detail.
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