Mann, one of Germany's most renowned writers, penned part of his 1947 novel "Doctor Faustus" in the house located in the ocean-front Pacific Palisades neighbourhood on the edge of Los Angeles.
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The German Nobel literature laureate had lived at the property from 1942 to 1951 with his family after fleeing Adolf Hitler's rule. Mann, a strident critic of the Nazis, was also stripped of his German nationality.
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"Thomas Mann's house was like the 'White House for exiles'. This was the home for many Germans who fought together for a better future for our country, who battled for an open society and helped built the foundations of common transatlantic values," said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a statement.
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Among exiled Germans who spent time at the US villa were poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht, the philosopher Theodor Adorno and filmmaker Fritz Lang.
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Germany plan to host young resident artists at the house, which was purchased for $13 million (12.2 million euros) according to Süddeutsche Zeitung daily.
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Steinmeier said he hoped the site would help to contribute to transatlantic dialogue at a "stormy time, when we need more than ever cultural anchors with our most important partner outside Europe."
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The foreign minister had said the election of Donald Trump would make transatlantic relations "more difficult" with the United States likely to make more decisions on its own.
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