Max Amann | |
|---|---|
 Amann as an SS-Gruppenführer | |
| Reich Press Chamber President | |
| In office 15 November 1933 – 8 May 1945 | |
| Deputy | Otto Dietrich |
| Reichsleiter for the Press | |
| In office 2 June 1933 – 8 May 1945 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1891-11-24)24 November 1891 Munich,Kingdom of Bavaria,German Empire |
| Died | 30 March 1957(1957-03-30) (aged 65) Munich,Bavaria,West Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Nazi Party (NSDAP) |
| Other political affiliations | Greater German People's Community |
| Occupation | Business manager Publisher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  German Empire |
| Branch/service |  Imperial German Army |
| Years of service | 1912–1919 |
| Rank | Feldwebel |
| Unit | 1st Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment 16th Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Iron Cross 2nd Class |
Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of theNazi Party, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including oflooted art. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the head ofEher Verlag (Eher Publishing), the official Nazi Party publishing house. He was also theReichsleiter for the press. After the war ended, Amann was arrested by U.S. military occupation authorities. A denazification court deemed him aHauptschuldiger (Major Offender). Amann was sentenced to ten years in a labour camp and stripped of his property, pension rights, and virtually all of his fortune.
Amann was released from custody in 1953, and died in poverty inMunich four years later.
Amann was born inMunich on 24 November 1891. After attendingvolksschule and a business school, he worked for a few years as a commercial office apprentice and a salesman. He then enlisted in the1st Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment in October 1912. When theFirst World War broke out he was transferred to the 16th Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment and obtained the rank ofFeldwebel (equivalent to the US Armystaff sergeant). Amann wasAdolf Hitler's company sergeant, and was thus an early acquaintance of Hitler long before his rise to prominence in German politics. He was awarded theIron Cross second class during the war. He was discharged in December 1919.[1]
Amann joined theNazi Party (NSDAP) in October 1921, as the Party's first business manager, and held NSDAP membership number 3.[2] After 1922, he also led the Nazis' sole publishing house,Eher Verlag.[3] Eher Verlag published, among other imprints, the antisemitic satirical magazineDie Brennessel[4] and theSS magazineDas Schwarze Korps ("The Black Corps"). Amann took part in the November 1923Beer Hall Putsch and in April 1924 was sentenced to four-and-a-half months inLandsberg Prison. During the period when the Nazi Party was banned, Amann was a leading member of theGreater German People's Community, a Nazifront organization headquartered in Munich. In November 1924 he was elected as a NSDAP candidate to the Munich city council, serving until 1933. When the Nazi Party was reestablished on 27 February 1925, Amann immediately rejoined it.[5]
Amann's most notable contribution was persuading Hitler to retitle his first book fromViereinhalb Jahre (des Kampfes) gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit, ("Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice") toMein Kampf, ("My Struggle") which he also published. The book became a major source of Eher-Verlag's income and Amann oversaw the book through many editions. He helped Hitler become a wealthy man. Amann also enriched himself through many Nazi publications.[3] Amann published the dailyVolkischer Beobachter, the weeklyIllustrierter Beobachter and theNationalsozialistische Monatshefte.[3]
After theNazi seizure of power, Hitler appointed him aReichsleiter, the second highest political rank in the Nazi Party on 2 June 1933.[6] On 15 November 1933, Hitler named Amann the president of the Reich Press Chamber (Reichspressekammer) and Reich Press Leader.[3] Also on that day, Amann was elected to theReichstag from electoral constituency 24,Upper Bavaria-Swabia. Amann joined the SS on 15 March 1932 with the rank of SS-Gruppenführer, was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer on 30 January 1936 and was assigned to the staff of theReichsführer-SS.[7]
Amann pursued a dual-pronged strategy to establish Nazi control over the press industry. In his official role as president of the Press Chamber, Amann had the power to seize or close down any newspapers that either ran counter to the Nazis' wishes or did not fully support the Nazi regime. Then, as head of the Eher-Verlag, he bought them at a substantial discount–often at "auctions" at which the Eher-Verlag was the sole bidder.[8] By 1942, Amann controlled 80% of all German newspapers through his publishing empire.[9] Combined with the proceeds fromMein Kampf,[10] this made the Eher-Verlag the largest newspaper and publishing company in Germany, and one of the largest in the world. His income increased from 108,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ in 1934 to 3,800,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ in 1944.[8]
As a party official Amann lacked talent, being a poor speaker and debater. In addition, his handwriting was illegible, thus his Chief of Staff and deputy, Rolf Rienhardt, performed these duties for him. Poor handwriting can be attributed in part to the loss of his left arm in an accident with a firearm while hunting withFranz Ritter von Epp on 4 September 1931.[11]
Arrested by American troops after the war ended, Amann was deemed aHauptschuldiger (Major Offender) and sentenced to ten years in a labour camp on 8 September 1948.[12] He was released in 1953, but was stripped of his property, pension rights and practically all of his fortune. Amann died on 30 March 1957, in Munich.[12]
In 2014, theBavarian State Painting Collections discovered in thePinakothek der Moderne's collection 14 art works that they suspected had belonged to Amann.[13][14] The Pinakothek received the artworks in 1945 and could not detail theirprovenance enough to say whether they were looted or not.[15] The German Lost Art Foundation listed the 10 paintings and 4 sculptures, which included works fromGabriel Mäleßkircher,[16][17]Franz von Stuck,[18]Friedrich Kaulbach[19] and others, in the lostart.de database.[20]
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