Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH (''Franz Eher and Successors, LLC'', usually referred to as the Eher-Verlag (''Eher Publishing'')) was the central publishing house of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

and one of the largest book and periodical firms during the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. It was acquired by the party on 17 December 1920 for 115,000

Papiermark The Papiermark (; 'paper mark') was a derisive term for the Mark (currency sign, sign: ℳ︁) after it went off the gold standard, and most specifically with the era of Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic, hyperinflation in Germany of 1922 a ...

. In addition to the major papers, the'' Völkischer Beobachter'' and the '' Illustrierter Beobachter'', the publishers also printed novels, maps, song books, and calendars. The weekly satirical magazine '' Die Brennessel'' and the listings magazine N.S.-Funk were also publications of the company.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's ''

Mein Kampf (; ) is a 1925 Autobiography, autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Political views of Adolf Hitler, Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Nazi Germany, Ge ...

'' was also published by the firm from 1925 through many editions and millions of copies.

History

The publishing house was registered by Franz Xaver Josef Eher (1851–1918) in the

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 ...

Handelsregister on 2 December 1901. However, the firm was actually founded with the name '' Münchener Beobachter'' on 2 January 1887. After Eher's death, Rudolf von Sebottendorf took over the firm in 1918 and on 30 September 1919 transformed it into a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

in order to avoid possible bankruptcy. The headquarters were in

(Thierschstraße 11–17), and from 1933, the entire party literature was printed and published by 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

Max Amann Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including of looted art. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the hea ...

, who took over the firm in the 1930s. He also doubled as Reich Press Leader and president of the Reich Press Chamber. In addition to the Eher-Verlag, he controlled nearly the entire economic function of the press in Germany. Often, Amann (in his government role) expropriated rival papers whose publishers were not willing to do the government's bidding. He then had the Eher-Verlag buy them for a pittance, usually in auctions in which the Eher-Verlag was the sole bidder. During the 1930s the Nazi Party purchased parts of the

Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany during the first three decades of the twentieth century, ...

concerns and a number of other publishing houses. By the 1940s, these tactics turned the Eher Verlag into one of the largest newspaper chains in the world. On 29 October 1945, the publisher was closed down according to Law no. 2 of the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority (), also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allies of World War II, Allied Allied-occupied Germany, occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991) and Al ...

(Termination and Liquidation of Nazi Organizations) and the firm's buildings and intellectual property (including ''Mein Kampf'') were transferred to the state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. It was formally

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

in 1952.

Notable books

, '' Mein Kampf. Eine Abrechnung'' (published 1925). * Alfred-Ingemar Berndt, '' Tanks Break Through! A German Soldier's Account of War in the Low Countries and France'', 1940. * Leo Leixner, '' From Lemberg to Bordeaux A German War Correspondent’s Account of Battle in Poland, the Low Countries and France, 1939–40'' (published 1941). * Ich Kämpfe, (published 1942).

References

{{Authority control Book publishing companies of Germany Mass media in Munich Companies based in Munich Political book publishing companies Nazi propaganda Publishing companies established in 1887 Defunct publishing companies Publishing companies disestablished in 1945 1887 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Companies involved in the Holocaust Mein Kampf

History

Notable books

See also

References