Les cafés du port

The Nautique “at Schwob’s”
The Café de Lyon
The Café de la Marine

Whether they are just passing through Sanary or staying longer, even for years, when exiles gather in cafes, they are united in their opposition to the Hitler regime. The cafe has become vital for what remains of their social life, where discussions revolve around Nietzsche, Goethe, or everyday problems.

The Nautique, named “at Schwob’s” after its founder, is their favorite spot. The Café of Lyon is mainly frequented by the people of Sanary as well as a few Francophone exiles, while the Café of the Marine is popular among the intellectuals of the bohemian scene.

In exile, the cafe is the place where social life continues. Exiled artists regularly meet there to discuss their ideas, their writings, the political situation, but also their daily lives. With the rise of Nazism in Germany, a large part of the German community in Montparnasse, called the ‘Dômiers’ after the Parisian cafe of the same name that they frequent (the Dome), went into exile in Sanary.

On the terraces of the port cafes, you can then come across Erich Klossowski, Julius Meier-Graefe, René Schickele, Wilhelm Herzog, Walter Bondy, Franz and Helen Hessel, Eugen Spiro, Hans Siemsen, and others, some of whom have already been settled in Sanary since 1933.

Their favorite meeting places are The Nautique, the Café de Lyon, and the Café de la Marine. The Nautique is called ‘at Schwab or Schwob’ in reference to its original owner of Alsatian origin, then becomes, after the death of the latter, ‘at the widow Schwob.’

It is frequented by the majority of exiles, whether they are just passing through or staying longer in Sanary. Among the regulars is Bertolt Brecht, who prefers to recite his works in this public place rather than at the very exclusive literary circle at Thomas Mann’s.

With his collaborator and partner Margarete Steffin, he plays the guitar and sings satirical songs about Goebbels and Hitler, or entertains his audience with Bayerische Schnaderhüpferln (Bavarian folk song).

René Schickele comes every day to read several newspapers and analyze political news, which he then discusses with his friends Erich Klossowski, Heinrich Mann, Julius Meyer-Graefe, and others. Hilde Stieler sits down at a small table next to him and writes an article for a German newspaper. Walter Bondy, the very Frenchified Berliner, and Erich Klossowski prefer to meet for their chess games at Café de Lyon, a bar for villagers where Walter Bondy meets the young Camille Bertron.

The two friends, perfectly Francophile and eager to obtain French citizenship, do not identify with the circle of German speakers. However, for all these people, the café is their headquarters, as most of the exiles live modestly and do not have the opportunity to entertain at home.