We Refugees Archive

Bruno Frank was born in Stuttgart on June 13, 1887. He studied law. While still a student, he turned to literature and published texts such as “Auf der goldenen Schale” in 1905. After World War I, he lived in Munich, befriending Thomas Mann, Klabund and Lion Feuchtwanger. In the 1920s he was able to establish himself as a writer, for example with the novels “Trenck” and “Tage des Königs”. He was also successful as a dramaturge during the Weimar Republic. In 1924 he married Liesl Pallenberg, the daughter of the Austrian actress Fritzi Massary.

The day after the Reichstag fire in February 1933, Bruno Frank and his wife Liesl Frank decided to leave Germany. At first the couple lived in Switzerland, then in Great Britain, and in October 1937 they traveled by ship to the United States. There they soon moved to Beverly Hills, California. In exile, Bruno Frank increasingly dealt with National Socialism, for example in his novel “Der Reisepaß” and the political writing “Lüge als Staatsprinzip” (1939).

Bruno Frank died on June 20, 1945 in Beverly Hills.

Brief information on the host country USA:
The USA was the most important receiving country. When the situation in Europe became increasingly hopeless from 1938 on, numerous persecuted people sought refuge here. Thanks in part to the support of aid organizations, living conditions in the USA were good. However, many emigrants had to make a living outside their original profession and suffered from this loss of status. In contrast, those working in science had good opportunities to continue their careers. For some artists, the film industry in Hollywood also offered a lucrative field of activity. After the war, many emigrants volunteered for the U.S. Army. Many refugees only learned later that they had been under surveillance by the FBI since their entry.

Frank, Bruno, “Jews Must Preserve the German Language,” in Aufbau, vol. 6, no. 52 (Dec. 27, 1940), p. 9, URL: https://d-nb.info/1039459323 (retrieved on. Sept. 5, 2002). © Deutsches Exilarchiv 1933–1945 der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek, Deutschland –  German Exile Archive from the German National Library in Frankfurt, Germany.