Günther Ruprecht

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Günther Ruprecht (born February 17, 1898 in Göttingen ; † March 17, 2001 there ) was a German publisher . From 1929 he headed the Göttingen publishing house Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht . He was a leading force in the Young Reformation movement in the church struggle within the German Evangelical Church (DEK) during the time of National Socialism .

Life

Günther Ruprecht was the son of the publisher Gustav Ruprecht (1860–1950). During the First World War he served as a reserve lieutenant. He then wanted Medicine study, but his father persuaded him to training as a bookseller . After graduating, Ruprecht worked in Breslau, Heidelberg, Leipzig and Stockholm. He spoke several foreign languages, including Swedish and Norwegian. In 1923, in the middle of the economic crisis, he joined the family business. Together with his father and his uncle Wilhelm Ruprecht (1858–1943), since 1928 also with his cousin Hellmut Ruprecht (1903–1991), he managed the publishing house (in the fifth generation). During the very difficult years of the economic crisis, he successfully continued the publishing business.

Ruprecht devoted particular effort to the church and theology. He published important theological dictionaries, textbooks and handbooks and founded the first complete series of commentaries on the Old Testament , Das Alte Testament Deutsch (ATD), as well as the supplementary series ATD Apocrypha and Outlines of the Old Testament .

In the time of National Socialism he supported the Confessing Church from 1933 . He published their magazine Junge Kirche and founded his own company, the “Verlag Junge Kirche, Günther Ruprecht”. In 1946 Ruprecht printed Martin Niemöller's speech about the war guilt of the Germans. As chairman of the Association of Protestant Booksellers, Ruprecht directed its reconstruction from 1947 onwards. In this capacity Ruprecht also worked with the Protestant book and publishing industry in the GDR . He particularly advocated the commonality of theological publications in East and West.

Ruprecht has received several awards for his life's work. He was a holder of the Federal Cross of Merit and from 1960 the first honorary citizen of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen . On the occasion of his 100th birthday, the theological faculty of this university awarded him an honorary doctorate on February 15, 1998 .

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personal data
SURNAME Ruprecht, Günther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German publisher
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Goettingen
DATE OF DEATH March 17, 2001
Place of death Goettingen