Ernst Klett (publisher, 1911)

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Ernst Klett 1973

Ernst Klett , also Ernst Klett the Younger (born July 7, 1911 in Stuttgart ; † January 28, 1998 there ) was a German publisher and author . He was significantly involved in building up the Ernst Klett publishing house .

Life

Ernst Klett was born as the youngest child of the publisher Ernst Klett the Elder in Stuttgart. He had six siblings.

In 1930 Klett began to study law and economics in Königsberg , and later an apprenticeship as a bookseller at the Hinrichs bookstore in Leipzig . He completed voluntary work and held smaller jobs in bookshops and publishing houses. In 1936 he joined the family business, which at the time was primarily a printing company with a small publishing house. He began to gradually expand the publishing division, thus initiating the development of what would later become Ernst Klett Verlag .

During the war years, the publishing business was idle. At the beginning of the Second World War, Klett was drafted into the tank replacement department in Böblingen and transferred to the Russian front. The war experiences had a strong influence on his personal development. He was critical of National Socialism, which is why he had not become a member of the NSDAP .

After the war ended in 1945, Ernst Klett quickly returned to publishing. As one of the first companies, Klett, based in Rotebühlstrasse, received a license from the American military government to resume publishing and printing in November 1945.

Klett expanded the company in many branches and shaped it inside and out. As a publisher he was open to new ideas, represented liberal views and thus made the acquaintance of a wide variety of authors. His selection principle was quality, not attitude:

"The catalog of a publishing house is an unmistakable mirror of the man who is responsible for it."

- Ernst Klett
Klett and Ernst Jünger 1984

He cultivated close friendships with Alexander Mitscherlich , Hartmut von Hentig , Golo Mann and Ernst Jünger , among others, author of the Klett-Cotta publishing house . He had a pen friendship with Jünger for many years. From 1971 to 1974 Klett was head of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and advisory board of the Association of School Book Publishers, of which he was deputy chairman until 1981.

On his 65th birthday in 1976, Klett retired from the publishing business and handed over management of the publishing house to his two sons Thomas and Michael Klett .

Ernst Klett the Younger died on January 28, 1998 in Stuttgart. His company, today's Klett Group , is now an internationally active education company run by the fourth generation of the family.

Honors

Publications

  • Ernst Klett: What do I owe my Swabian homeland, how far has it shaped me? In: Swabians among themselves about themselves . Wolfgang Weidlich Verlag, Frankfurt am Main (no year).
  • Ernst Klett: Speech on the 1973 Peace Prize . ISBN 3-7657-0476-8 (as head of the Börsenverein).

Web links

Commons : Ernst Klett the Younger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Unless other sources are expressly stated, the information comes from Michael Klett: Ernst Klett . Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-12-902990-7 .
  2. ↑ Michael Klett: Ernst Klett . Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-12-902990-7 .
personal data
SURNAME Velcro, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Klett, Ernst the Younger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German publisher and author
DATE OF BIRTH July 7, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH January 28, 1998
Place of death Stuttgart