The Thomas Mann House was the residence of exiled German writer Thomas Mann and is located in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles. The house was designed by modernist architect JR Davidson. Mann lived at the house between 1942 and 1952, and then it was sold to an American lawyer and his wife. In 2016 the German Government purchased the house which is now renovated and turned into an artist’s residence.
Only two miles away, there are the remains of the Murphy Ranch. In 1933, Winona and Norman Stephens acquired 55 acres of land located in Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles. They were sympathizers of anti-Semitic white supremacist Silver Legion of America and believed that Germans were soon to invade the USA. Winona and Norman Stephens oversaw the construction of Murphy Ranch which was meant to be a hide-out place for Third Reich sympathizers until German Nazi rule had been established. However in 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the police occupied the compound and detained all members.
Today the compound is owned by the city of Los Angeles and a few of the structures remain as graffiti-covered ruins. In early 2016 some of the buildings were demolished, as they were deemed unsafe, however it is still a favorite spot for hikers and visitors today.