Feuchtwanger, Marta

Biographical/Historical note

Marta Feuchtwanger was born Marta Loeffler on December 21, 1891 in Germany. In 1912 she married German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger and went with him into exile during WWII. First they lived in Southern France in Sanary-sur-mer but had to flee in 1940. They escaped to the US in 1940. Marta and her husband Lion moved to Los Angeles in early 1941 where they eventually bought a house at 520 Paseo Miramar. During WWII the Feuchtwanger's house became a well-known gathering place for German-speaking exiles and their American friends. Both Marta and Lion also helped others persecuted by the Nazis to escape from Europe. After Lion Feuchtwanger's death in 1958, Marta dedicated her life to keeping his memory and his work alive. She willed her house and Lion's invaluable library to USC and became the first curator of the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library. Marta assisted researchers and gave tours to USC students on a regular basis and received an honorable doctorate from USC in 1981. Marta survived her husband by almost 30 years. She died in Santa Monica in 1987.