Anna Segher's period of emigration in Mexico began on 30 June 1941 after a three-month voyage from Marseille via Casablanca, Martinique, the Dominican Republic, New York and Cuba. The departure had been delayed because her passport contained the name Netty Radvanyi, whereas her pen name Anna Seghers was entered in the visa.

Money was often scarce in the first two years in Mexico. It was not until her novel Das siebte Kreuz proved successful in the US and in Mexico that she had a secure source of revenue. From 1943 she lived with her family in Avenida Industria 215 in Mexico City, a house with a spacious terrace. She travelled to San Miguel and Guadalajara, and the "tribal native-forest villages" close to Manzanillo on the Pacific coast. In June 1943 she had to interrupt her work for several months following a serious traffic accident.

On 9 July 1946 Anna Seghers became a Mexican citizen. Six months later, on 7 January 1947, she left Mexico. She never returned, but remained grateful to the country. Her contacts were not limited to the emigrant community. She was acquainted with Clara Porset and Xavier Guerrero, and was friends with David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Riviera and Vicente Lombardo Toledano. She also got to know various immigrant German businessmen. In 1947 she wrote to them from Berlin: "Netty, here, wishing you could see this completely mad city. As you know, it is divided into four sectors [...]. It is to Magda's and my unending regret that there is no Mexican sector."(Anna Seghers, Letters 1924-1952, 2008)