Many German emigrants in America were heartened by the news of actor Albert Bassermann’s arrival in New York on 15 April 1939. One of the greatest character actors was now among them, not out of necessity, but out of principle.

His 75th birthday in 1942 was originally going to be marked by a major gala dinner. This event was cancelled after Bassermann admitted to his agent Paul Kohner that he had a “pathological aversion to any sort of public appearance”. It was Erika Mann’s idea to instead have Dieterle, Bruno Frank, Henry Koster, Ernst Lubitsch, Thomas Mann and Fritzi Massary organise a collection of congratulatory letters to be handed to the birthday boy in a bundle. A total of 35 creative professionals, both German exiles and Americans, took part in this appreciation, including Alfred Polgar, Curt Goetz, Ernst Deutsch, Ludwig Hardt, Vicki Baum, Julius Bab, Annette Kolb, Carl Zuckmayer, Otto Preminger, Erich Pommer, Walter Reisch, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Joe Pasternak and Jack Warner.

The actual birthday celebration, however, was a modest affair. The photograph shows a festive yet intimate group of the Bassermanns’ closest Hollywood friends.