Axel Springer
| Axel Springer | |
|---|---|
 Bronze sculpture of Springer at the court yard of the Hamburger Abendblatt | |
| Born |
Axel Cäsar Springer May 2, 1912 Altona, German Empire |
| Died |
September 22, 1985 (aged 73) West Berlin, West Germany |
| Occupation | Business, Publishing |
| Spouse(s) |
Martha Else Meyer (1933–1938) divorced Erna Frieda Berta Holm (1939–)divorced Rosemarie Alsen (1953–1961) divorced Helga Ludeweg(1962–) divorced Friede Springer (1978–1985) |
| Children |
Barbara (born 1933) Axel Springer jun. (1941–1980) Raimund Nicolaus (born 1962) |
| Parent(s) | Hinrich Springer |
Axel Cäsar Springer (May 2, 1912 – September 22, 1985) was a German journalist and the founder and owner of the Axel Springer SE publishing company.
Early life
Springer was born in Altona near Hamburg, where his father worked as publisher. As a young man, from July 1941, Springer acted as projectionist at the Waterloo cinema, near the Dammtor railway station, which presented American films for the well-to-do youth of Hamburg until Germany's declaration of war against the United States in December 1941.[1]
Journalist career
Springer's career started as an apprentice compositor and publisher at the publishers Hammerich & Lesser-Verlag, his father's company. After that, he received practical training in the news agency "Wolffs Telegraphisches Bureau" and worked as a local reporter for the newspaper Bergedorfer Zeitung.
Starting in 1934, he worked as a journalist with Altonaer Nachrichten until the compulsory closure of the newspaper in 1941. From 1941 to 1945, he published literary works in Hammerich & Lesser Verlag.
Publisher
He founded his own publishing company Axel Springer GmbH in Hamburg in 1946. He published the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper, preceded by some magazines, including the popular radio and TV programm magazine Hörzu. In 1952, Springer started the publication of the tabloid Bild, becoming the daily newspaper for millions in Germany and an important influence on public opinion.
He went on to launch and acquire a string of papers and magazines characterised by entertainment and conservative politics, Die Welt among others. The Axel Springer AG today is one of the major magazine, newspaper and online media companies in Europe with over 230 newspapers and magazines as well as more than 80 online offerings.
Controversy
In the late 1960s, Springer was attacked by the radical-leftist, communist and anarchist student movement for the political opinion pushed forward via Bild and the other Springer media and became a target of their protest marches and direct actions. Springer was swift to denounce those who questioned the economic miracle of the fifties and sixties.
Springer's Bild newspaper was attacked most famously in 1974's The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll.
Corporate principles
Part of the articles of association of Axel Springer AG are the five sociopolitical preambles that were written by Axel Springer in 1967, amended in 1990 following German reunification and supplemented in 2001, one day after 9/11.
- To uphold liberty and law in Germany, a country belonging to the Western family of nations, and to further the unification of Europe.
- To promote reconciliation of Jews and Germans and support the vital rights of the State of Israel.
- To support the Transatlantic Alliance, and solidarity with the United States of America in the common values of free nations.
- To reject all forms of political extremism.
- To uphold the principles of a free social market economy.
The corporate constitution defines fundamental sociopolitical convictions but does not offer opinions.[2]
Death
Springer died in West Berlin in 1985.[3] His heiress is his fifth (and last) wife Friede Springer (born 1942) who, 30 years Springer's junior, had been his sons' nanny.[4]
References
- ↑ Richard J. Evans, "The Third Reich at War", p. 578. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2009. ISBN 978-1-59420-206-3.
- ↑ Corporate Principles, Values and Guidelines of Axel Springer AG Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Brief Biography of Axel Springer on www.axelspringer.com
- ↑ Karacs, Imre; Koenig, Peter (May 31, 1998). "It's like watching two run-down old elephants perform a dance". The Independent. Retrieved July 2, 2014.