The German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag (today in Frankfurt am Main) was founded in 1886 by Samuel Fischer 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...

 and is a leading German address for literary publications and fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

.

Originally, it was renowned for naturalism literature

Naturalism (literature)

Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...

. Famous authors include Gerhart Hauptmann

Gerhart Hauptmann

Gerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Life and work:...

 and Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...

, both awarded the Nobel prize in literature

Nobel Prize in Literature

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...

.

After the Nazis

Nazism

Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

 came to power in Germany, the family of owner Gottfried Bermann-Fischer fled and founded a branch of their publishing house in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. Those who remained in Berlin kept the official name "S. Fischer Verlag" and were led by Peter Suhrkamp

Peter Suhrkamp

Peter Suhrkamp was a German publisher and founder of the Suhrkamp Verlag.From 1921 to 1925 Suhrkamp worked as dramatic adviser and director at the State Theatre in Darmstadt . In 1932 he joint the S. Fischer Verlag. In 1936 he bought the part of the S. Fischer Verlag, which could not be...

.

After the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, some disputes arose over the future of the publishing house between Suhrkamp and Fischer. This led to an out of court agreement. Bermann-Fischer received from Peter Suhrkamp the publishing house back. Suhrkamp separated from Fischer and founded his own Suhrkamp publishing house

Suhrkamp Verlag

Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature.In January 2010 the headquarters of the company moved from Frankfurt to Berlin.-Early history:...

. It was decided that the authors of Fischer could choose which publishing house they wanted to be published by in future, and so 33 of the 48 authors—among them Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...

 and Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...

—decided to change to Suhrkamp.

Today the S. Fischer Verlag, as well as other publishers, such as Kindler, Rowohlt

Rowohlt

Rowohlt Verlag is a publishing house based in Reinbek and also Hamburg and Berlin, part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group . The company was created in 1908 in Leipzig by Ernst Rowohlt.- Parts of the company :* Kindler Verlag...

, and Kiepenheuer & Witsch and Metzler, are part of Holtzbrinck, a publishing group. Holtzbrinck bought S. Fischer in 1963.

External links

Official website

• At Holtzbrinck