Aenne Burda (28 July 1909 – 3 November 2005), born Anna Magdalene Lemminger, was a German publisher of the Burda Group, a media group based in

Offenburg Offenburg (; "open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrat ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany. She was one of the symbols of the

German economic miracle The ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (, "economic miracle"), also known as the Miracle on the Rhine, was the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression was first used to refer to th ...

Biography

Aenne Burda was born in Offenburg,

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. She chose her name after the popular song ''

Ännchen von Tharau "" (, ) is a 17-stanza poem by the East Prussian poet Simon Dach. The namesake of the poem is Anna Neander (1615–1689), the daughter of a person from Tharau, East Prussia (now known as Vladimirovo in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia). The poem wa ...

''. She was the daughter of a steam engine fireman. She left convent high school at 17 and became a cashier at the Offenburg electricity company. In 1930 she met printer and publisher

Franz Burda Franz Burda (24 February 1903 – 30 September 1986) was a German publisher. He inherited his father's publishing business, which he developed into what is now the Hubert Burda Media conglomerate. Early life and family Burda was born in Phil ...

, son of Franz Burda, the founder of the Burda printing company. The couple married a year later, on 9 July 1931. They had three sons, Franz (1932–2017), Frieder (1936–2019) and

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubert of Liège (or Hubertus) (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and m ...

(1940). She was the mother-in-law of actress

Maria Furtwängler Maria Furtwängler-Burda (short version: ; born 13 September 1966) is a German physician and television actress. Early life Maria Furtwängler-Burda is a daughter of architect Bernhard Furtwängler and actress Kathrin Ackermann, great-niece a ...

. Burda founded two charitable foundations, supporting young academics and seniors in her hometown of Offenburg respectively. Aenne Burda died in her native Offenburg, Germany, at the age of 96, from natural causes. A movie about her life, Aenne Burda, The Economic Wonderwoman was released in 2018.

Magazine publishing

Aenne and her husband helped to expand the family business into women's magazines. In 1949 Aenne Burda founded a fashion magazine printing and publishing company in her home town Offenburg. The same year she started publishing magazine ''Favorit'', which was later renamed to ''Burda Moden''. The first issue of '' Burda Moden'' magazine was published in 1950 with a circulation of 100,000. It became popular in the market after 1952, when it began to include sheets of paper with patterns for clothes. In 1987 ''Burda Moden'' became the first Western magazine published in

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. ''Burda Fashion'' is currently published in 90 countries in 16 different languages. In 1977 she launched ''Burda CARINA'' magazine, a fashion and lifestyle magazine targeting a younger female audience.

Quotes

* "My aim is to put together practical fashions at an affordable price that can be worn by the largest possible number of women." * "I have learned to grow old with a young heart, thus retaining my enjoyment of life, my

joie de vivre ( , ; " joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit, and general happiness. It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ' ...

Awards

* 1974

Great Cross of Merit Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

of the Federal Republic of Germany * 1979 Offenburg's Ring of Honour for her role in the city's economic development * 1984

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

* 1985 Baden-Württemberg Order of Merit * 1989 Jakob Fugger Medal by the Bavarian Publishers Association (the first time this was awarded to a woman) * 1989 Aenne Burda is made an honorary citizen of her hometown Offenburg * 1990 Karl Valentin Order of Merit * 1994 Golden Order of Merit from the province of Salzburg, Austria * 2001 Knight Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

for her exceptional achievements as a business woman

Bibliography

* Aenne Burda: ''Ansichten, Einsichten, Erfahrungen.'' Articles previously published in Burda Moden, 1975–1989, * Aenne Burda (Hrsg.): ''Handarbeitsbücher für Schule, Beruf und Haus.'' Modeverlag Burda, Lahr (Schwarzwald) * Judith Betzler: ''Aenne Burda. Die Macht des Schönen.'' Econ, München 1999, *: �
Excerpt
22 pages, (pdf file) * Peter Köpf: ''Die Burdas.'' Europa Verlag, Hamburg 2002,

References

External links

Aenne-Burda.com

About Aenne Burda

Hubert-Burda-Media.de
Hubert Burda Media company's website.

Burda Fashion (magazine) website.
Aenne Burda – Publisher and Grande Dame of German fashion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burda, Aenne 1909 births 2005 deaths People from Offenburg Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Aenne German mass media owners Women in publishing German magazine founders