Have you heard the news? Text Publishing has been acquired by Penguin Random House. Is that giving you mixed feelings? Unsure why? Well, I've deep-dived into the subject so you don't have to. Was I expecting Nazis? No. But here we are! Let's get to it.
Christians Turn to Fascism For Survival (And Coin)
Random House was originally founded in 1927, Penguin Books in 1935. Together they merged in 2013 to become a British-American limited multinational conglomerate and the largest Trade Book Publisher in the world. Under its belt are over 300 imprints that include everything from Complete Idiot's Guides to Broadway Books through Viking Press and Razorbill to the distribution rights for Dark Horse Comics, Disney IP, and Titan Books.
Penguin Random House is owned by the private German family, Mohn, and its company, Bertelsmann.
That is Europe's largest media group which too began as a publisher in 1835, peddling obscure religious tracts before switching tracks and surpassing even Germany's central publisher to become the leading Wehrmacht supplier—
Oh, wait. You didn't quite catch that. So sorry.
Yep. That's it. You see, Heinrich Mohn (1885 - 1955) was the fourth-generation owner of Bertelsmann and took over the company in 1921 at age 36 when, much like today, businesses suffered from high inflation, and the shrinking upper and lower middle class.
No one had disposable income! Let alone to spare on books! (Sound familiar?).
As Bertelsmann themselves explained:
"(Customers) were under significant economic and cultural pressure. Those in the educated upper middle class were among the Weimar Republic’s economic losers. Weimar society was more secular and more pluralistic than that of Imperial Germany. The culture of mass consumption and political extremism, both on the left and on the right, offered new alternatives to traditional values and attitudes..."
In fact, in 1923, the market for printed books collapsed entirely leaving Mohn and the company on the brink of ruin. At this point one US dollar was worth 4.2 trillion German marks.
To avoid complete disaster, The Weimar Republic—that is, the German Reich—introduced a new currency, the Reichsmark, backed by a mortgage on the nation's entire industrial and agricultural resources in hopes of achieving stability. It worked, allowing the Reich to negotiate the revalorization of their currency against the Goldmark.
(Or so my brief and limited knowledge and Wikipedia explains).
In partnership with these fiscal changes, the Reich pushed the ideology of Rationalization in hopes of making businesses more efficient too. Heinrich later recalled his realisation of how the average commissioned small print run was the root of his company's suffering. His facilities needed less orders, but with maximum print runs, if he hoped to achieve profit.
In other words, Mohn wanted to restructure for mass production.
Gone with the thematics. In with popular entertainment. Nazi style.
By 1933, Bertelsmann had shifted the bulk of their work from religious text to völkisch nationalism. They became the biggest publisher in Nazi Germany, responsible for over a quarter of the texts distributed to soldiers, including manuals and propaganda material.
"These works were anti-modern, anti-democratic, nationalistic, racist in part, and, in some cases, anti-Semitic." — C. Bertelsmann
In other words, the company adapted and evolved and ensured its own survival at the cost of, sure, a few tens of million deaths. They aided in the entrenchment of Nazi ideology and its indoctrination. Ensuring that the cultural and societal laneways paved for Hitler's rise.
Christians to Nazis to Christians Again
Sure, now, the company acknowledges the racist and anti-Semitic material produced during World War 2 and their extensive participation; though they are quick to highlight such content allegedly featured in less than 5 per cent of their entire catalogue.
After World War II, Mohn realised being recognised as the Number One Nazi Publisher was not a great look and rebranded Bertelsmann once more as a Christian Publisher who not only resisted the Nazis, but also suffered persecution for printing banned texts.
This sympathetic position allowed Heinrich to secure a license to resume publishing from the British occupying force, retain its market-leading position, and weather the Great Depression with little stagnation. Of course, it couldn't last, and the jig was allegedly up after two years with the discovery Heinrich Mohn had lied about the company's Nazi affiliation on its license application. It led, I believe, to him stepping down as company head. His son took over.
The company however publically continued the same denials and rhetoric until 1998.
It told the world it had been a victim too. That it had staunchly resisted. That it had been "shut down by the Nazis because of the religious convictions of its chairman at the time". This is what was offered in the company's own recorded history, as published for its 150th anniversary in 1985.
A false narrative that not only demanded global sympathy but also exploited the goodwill of the influential Jews in the business and regulatory industries.
It was due to these Jewish connections that Bertelsmann was able to achieve a rapid international expansion. This included its acquisition of Random House that, with its future merger with Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, would assure Bertelsmann's pedestal as the world's biggest trade publishing houses
It took Germand freelance historical researcher, Hersch Fischler, to challenge this false narrative after hearing then chairman, Thomas Middelhoff's, 1998 acceptance speech for a prize offered by a Jewish-American organisation to the company. He published the exposé in a Swiss magazine, leading to the formation of the Independent Historical Commission led I think by Israeli historian, Saul Friedlaender.
The panel found Heinrich Mohn had been a member of the German National People's Party until 1924, and had continued to support a number of Nazi causes through the war, participating in the Schutzstaffel, or the SS Sponsors Circle, a paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler. It is unknown (publically at least) to what extent he privately sympathised, but that he did use, though allegedly few, Jewish slave labour for his Baltic printing presses.
They revealed Bertelsmann's sales rose 2,000% after switching from religious and educational texts to nationalistic popular literature, manuals, and propaganda; that it had supplied the army with around 19 million books that blended entertainment with indoctrination; and that it had used Christianity and nostalgia as a way to target children and young adults.
"The book Flieger am Feind (Above Enemy Lines) offered the reminiscences of combat pilots from the First World War and called upon young people to emulate them. In 1934, the Buch der todesbereiten Pfl ichtererfüllung (Duty unto Death) became the “official Christmas book of the Hitler Youth.” Even more successful was the series Spannende Geschichten (Exciting Stories); aimed at children aged ten and up, it transformed war into an adventure." — C. Bertelsmann
In its more recently recorded history, 175 years after the fact, the company does acknowledge its active participation in World War II. Though statements made by its Chairman, Gunter Thielen, have fallen short of an actual apology.
Investing in 'The Common (Greater) Good'
Today, Bertelsmann's principal divisions, alongside PRH, are the RTL Group (Entertainment Company), BMG (Music Publisher and Record Label), and Arvato (B2B and E-Commerce Logistics Provider). The company operates in 50 different countries with over 80,000 employees, and its 2023 revenue amounted to 20.17B Euros (33.46B AUD).
In contrast, Murdoch's The Company (owner of Harper Collins) 2023 revenue was only half that at 9.5-9.9B depending on whether you converted it to EUR or USD.
The influence the Mohn family carries today far exceeds that during the Reich. A terrifying thought considering the latest socio-economic climate. But also a curious one given Murdoch has arguably taken their WWII reigns as the Global Fascist Propaganda Machine.
I do not have the knowledge or data on Bertelsmann's current cultural impact and whether it leans positive or negative, but you must credit their Philamprothy the past half-century.
The Mohn family founded the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 1977.
Created by Reinhard Mohn, and now overseen by his daughter and wife, the non-profit think tank is committed to promoting the 'common good'.
Its Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), launched in 2005 is still the benchmark globally for its data sourcing and is used by governments and organisations around the globe to this day. Its data also informs Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index and Bertelsmann's sister project, Sustainable Governance Indicators.
Their latest news is awarding the 2025 Reinhard Mohn Prize—dedicated to "Strengthening Democracy"—to the first Female and Current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and Entrepreneur Michael Otto, President of Foundation 2°, which aims to create a carbon-free economic system.
Their latest publications cover future population identities and development in Germany by 2040, EU 'Coordination on Purchasing and Stockpiling Critical Commodities', the 'Von der Leyen Effect', 'The New Geo Economic Instruments of the European Union', moving 'Towards a More Flexible European Union' with new integration architecture, and much much more.
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As the world looks to repeat 1920 Germany and Italy, a century later, it's vital we understand who the big players in the world, their history, and their current stance, lest they repeat too.
Penguin Random House absorbing one of the few remaining independent publishers of critical acclaim in Australia is a big red glaring warning to us all, even if Bertelsmann is pro-democracy.
The fish are getting bigger and draining the pond while they're at it.
We must diversify our markets. We must throat-punch everything Fascism.
We must ensure we aren't complacent in these times.
Support independent publishing.
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Need a place to start? Check out the authors I've recently worked with. And when you can, buy direct from them :)
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