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Katia Mann became ill in Autumn 1911, a year after Monika's birth. The illness was first suspected to be tuberculosis, but later X-ray examinations could not find any physical changes. Her mother, Hedwig, put the illness down to exhaustion. Katia had given birth to four children and suffered two miscarriages in less than five years. In addition, she typed for her husband and arranged his appointments on top of the tasks of a large household. Hedwig realised that her daughter needed rest, and in January 1912, Katia was one of the first patients to be admitted to the Wald Sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland. Thomas Mann's visits to her there inspired his novel The Magic Mountain. Up to May, 1914, Katia spent several months in sanatoriums, which (according to her) strengthened her so that she could "stand it all".
As the Mann family lived in exile, Katia Mann took care of her six children and husband. She was not just the good spirit of the family, but the connection point that kept them all together. She taught her children, was her husband's manager, and was the family provider. She outlived three of her children (Klaus, Erika and Michael) and her husband. She died in Kilchberg near Zürich.
Thomas Mann made a sort of "portrait" of her in his novel Royal Highness.
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