Did Thomas Mann have a nickname?
The answer to this question is yes:
He had a nickname.
His six children had a nickname for their father.
They called him the magician. Since they usually spoke German, they used a German word:
der Zauberer
Sometimes they referred to him by the letter Z.
Why?
What was the reason?
Where did this come from?
Apparently, the family had once arranged a costume party where all participants had to show up wearing a special costume.
When Thomas Mann appeared, he was dressed as a magician. Hence the nickname.
PS. The nickname could also be connected to his famous novel The Magic Mountain which was published in 1924. The German title of this work is Der Zauberberg.
REFERENCES
Thomas Mann:
Life as a Work of Art
By Hermann Kurzke
(1966)
The Brothers Mann:
The Lives of Heinrich and Thomas Mann
By Nigel Hamilton
(1978)
Thomas Mann:
The Ironic German
By Erich Heller
(1981)
Thomas Mann: A Life
By Donald Prater
(1995)
Thomas Mann: A Biography
By Ronald Hayman
(1996)
Thomas Mann:
Eros and Literature
Anthony Heilbut
(1997)
Thomas Mann in English:
A Study in Literary Translation
By David Horton
(2013)
The Magician
By Toibin Colm
(2021)
The Mind in Exile:
Thomas Mann in Princeton
By Stanley Corngold
(2022)
*****
The famous German writer
Thomas Mann
(1875-1955)
This photo was taken
when he was a young man
*****
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