Springer, Axel

Axel Springer, in full Axel Cäsar Springer, (born May 2, 1912, Altona, near Hamburg, Germany—died September 22, 1985, West Berlin), German publisher who founded Axel Springer Verlag AG, one of the largest publishing concerns in Europe.

Springer was the son of a printer and publisher. After limited schooling, he worked as an apprentice in various printing and publishing concerns. He received his journalism training at a news agency and at his father’s paper, the Altonaer Nachrichten.

In 1945 Springer started to build his own publishing company. By the time of his death, the Axel Springer Publishing Group was publishing Die Welt, a highly regarded conservative daily newspaper; Bild-Zeitung, a sensational daily tabloid; the Hamburger Abendblatt; the Berliner Morgenpost; and other newspapers, as well as radio and television program guides. The company’s activities also included two book-publishing concerns (Ullstein and Propyläen) and an audiovisual enterprise.

In 1959–60 Springer moved his operations from Hamburg to West Berlin in what he intended as a symbolic protest over the partition of Germany. He also supported the state of Israel and worked to further German-Jewish reconciliation.