Franz Eher Nachfolger

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Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH (usually referred to as the Eher-Verlag) was the central publishing house of the Nazi Party and one of the largest book and periodical firms during the Third Reich. It was acquired by the party on December 17, 1920 for 115,000 Papiermark.

In addition to the major papers, the Völkischer Beobachter and the Illustrierter Beobachter, the publishers also printed novels, maps, song books, and calendars. Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was also published by the firm from 1925 through many editions and millions of copies.

[edit] History

The publishing house was registered by Franz Eher in the Munich Handelsregister on December 2, 1901. However, the firms was actually founded with the name Münchener Beobachter on January 2, 1887. After Eher's death, Rudolf von Sebottendorf took over the firm in 1918 and on September 30, 1919 transformed it into a limited liability company in order to avoid possible bankruptcy.

The headquarters were in Munich, and from 1933, the entire party literature was printed and published from the Eher-Verlag. Later branches in Berlin, Vienna, and additional branches in Munich were established. Between 1933 and 1943, Rolf Rienhard was chief administrator. He was relieved by Wilhelm Baur who remained until the end of the war.

The key figure leading the publishing house's expansion, however, was NSDAP-Reichsleiter für die Presse Max Amann. In addition to the Eher-Verlag, he controlled nearly the entire economic function of the press in Germany. During the 1930's the Nazi Party purchused parts of the Alfred Hugenberg concerns and a number of other publishing houses.

In 1945, the publisher was banned and dismantled. The firm's buildings and intellectual property (including Mein Kampf) were transferred to the state of Bavaria.

[edit] References

• Norbert Frei/Johannes Schmitz: Journalismus im Dritten Reich. 3. Aufl., C.H. Beck: München 1999, ISBN 3-406-45516-6
• Peter de Mendelssohn: Zeitungsstadt Berlin: Menschen und Mächte in der Geschichte der deutschen Presse Berlin. Ullstein, 1959, 2., überarb. u. erw. Aufl., Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Wien: Ullstein: 1982, ISBN 3-550-07496-4
• Thomas Tavernaro: Der Verlag Hitlers und der NSDAP. Die Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH. Edition Praesens: Wien 2004, ISBN 3-7069-0220-6