Gerhard Ludwig
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Ludwig was a German
bookseller.
Born into a very poor working class family in Berlin
, his mother worked in an ammunitions factory, and his father was a beer deliverer and an alcoholic. During the Third Reich he worked for the Frankfurter Zeitung
, a newspaper which sheltered non-conformist writers. He was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen
between 1941 and 1945, for writing a cheeky post-card about pompous Nazi references to Frederick the Great. He was liberated by the Red Army
on April 22 1945, by which time he had developed severe tuberculosis. In 1946, he received a 10.000 Reichsmark
credit and took over the bookshop in Cologne
main station. Between 1950 and 1956, he illegally used the third-class waiting hall in Cologne main station for political and cultural discussion events ("Mittwochgespräche"), which were important for German education in democracy. Well known
public figures had to face a crowd and answer questions they would not know beforehand - something completely unknown in Germany before. The events stopped when Cologne main station was re-designed after 1956.
Among the invited guests were
and all members of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
's cabinet, with the sole exception of Adenauer himself.
He created the first shop for paperbacks. His shops were leased from the German Railway Authority (Deutsche Bundesbahn), and while he succeeded in cheating on the lease rates for many years, he was eventually found out and - under pressure from creditors - had to sell his shops in 1988.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
bookseller.
Born into a very poor working class family in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, his mother worked in an ammunitions factory, and his father was a beer deliverer and an alcoholic. During the Third Reich he worked for the Frankfurter Zeitung
Frankfurter Zeitung
The Frankfurter Zeitung was a German language newspaper that appeared from 1856 to 1943. It emerged from a market letter that was published in Frankfurt...
, a newspaper which sheltered non-conformist writers. He was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
between 1941 and 1945, for writing a cheeky post-card about pompous Nazi references to Frederick the Great. He was liberated by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
on April 22 1945, by which time he had developed severe tuberculosis. In 1946, he received a 10.000 Reichsmark
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
credit and took over the bookshop in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
main station. Between 1950 and 1956, he illegally used the third-class waiting hall in Cologne main station for political and cultural discussion events ("Mittwochgespräche"), which were important for German education in democracy. Well known
public figures had to face a crowd and answer questions they would not know beforehand - something completely unknown in Germany before. The events stopped when Cologne main station was re-designed after 1956.
Among the invited guests were
- Heinrich BöllHeinrich BöllHeinrich Theodor Böll was one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers. Böll was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.- Biography :...
- Ernst von SalomonErnst von SalomonErnst von Salomon was a German writer and Freikorps member.He was born in Kiel, the son of a criminal investigation officer. From 1913 he was a cadet in Karlsruhe and Berlin-Lichterfelde; starting in 1919, he joined the Freikorps in the Baltic, where he fought against the Bolsheviks...
- Gustav Gründgens
- Werner FinckWerner FinckWerner Finck was a German comedian, an actor with "comic bones". He could read the phone book and it would seem extremely funny.-Life:...
and all members of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
's cabinet, with the sole exception of Adenauer himself.
He created the first shop for paperbacks. His shops were leased from the German Railway Authority (Deutsche Bundesbahn), and while he succeeded in cheating on the lease rates for many years, he was eventually found out and - under pressure from creditors - had to sell his shops in 1988.