Brockhaus, Hans

Publisher, entrepreneur

Born: 06.10.1888 in Leipzig

died: 19.12.1965 in Wiesbaden

Brockhaus began an apprenticeship at his family's publishing house in 1909, which included long-term stays at the publishing branches in Bern, Paris and London. He then worked on various publishing projects and became co-owner of the publishing house after the death of Eduard Brockhaus in 1914. After the end of the war, he led the publishing house through the difficult political and economic times of the early Weimar Republic. In 1928-35, the 15th edition of the "Großer Brockhaus" was published in 20 volumes with his cooperation.

He earned particular merit by compiling an encyclopaedia archive in the years 1931-33, in which he wrote down the company's internal knowledge on the production of encyclopaedias.

After 1933, his work proved difficult. Due to a lack of proof of so-called Aryan descent, the Brockhaus family was threatened with compulsory expropriation; only an exemption granted by Hitler allowed the publishing house to continue. During the Second World War, Brockhaus prevented the business from being shut down due to the war.

After the end of the war, the family moved from Leipzig to Wiesbaden under the protection of the American occupying forces, where the 16th edition of the "Großer Brockhaus" was published in 12 volumes. The Leipzig keyword list had survived the war unscathed and had arrived in Wiesbaden with Brockhaus. At the same time, he fought against the expropriation of his family in the Soviet occupation zone and the transformation of the Leipzig publishing house into a state-owned enterprise (VEB).

The highlight of his life came during the 150th anniversary celebrations of the publishing house in 1955, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Mainz. Brockhaus remained active in the publishing business until his death.