Harrassowitz, Hans Robert Otto

Publishing bookseller

born: 07.12.1885 in Leipzig

died: 21.04.1964 in Wiesbaden

Harrassowitz was the son of the Leipzig bookseller and publisher Otto Harrassowitz (1845-1920), who founded the publishing bookshop "Richter & Harrassowitz" in Leipzig with Oscar Richter in 1872. Two years later, Otto Harrassowitz became the sole owner of the company and developed it into a specialist publisher for oriental studies, library science and linguistics. In 1884, the publishing house began to publish the newly founded "Zentralblatt für das Bibliothekswesen" and from 1902 the "Jahrbuch der deutschen Bibliotheken".

In 1908, Hans Harrassowitz was the first representative of the publishing house to travel to the USA and began to establish business contacts there. In 1915, he took over the management of the publishing house. In 1931, the publishing house published the first volume of the standard work "Handbuch der Bibliothekswissenschaft" (Handbook of Library Science), which was followed by others. During an air raid in December 1943, the Leipzig publishing premises were completely destroyed, whereupon Harrassowitz continued his business from his private apartment.

In 1947, he commissioned Richard Dorn (1906-1992), who had been with the company since 1936, to set up a branch of the publishing house in Wiesbaden, as it was clear to him that the company would no longer be able to continue its international business relations from Leipzig in the future. In 1951, the authorities in Leipzig closed the publishing house and nationalized it. In the same year, Harrassowitz was able to move to Wiesbaden with his wife Gertrud (née Otto).

In the 1950s and 1960s, he succeeded in expanding Harrassowitz-Verlag into an internationally successful company.

Harrassowitz was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class. His grave is located in the cemetery in Sonnenberg.