Posted on 04/24/2004 12:35:13 PM PDT by knighthawk
It is ironic that the German publisher whose interest in The Daily Telegraph prompted Richard Desmond's outburst was once shut down by the Nazis and later became dedicated to reconciliation between his nation and the Jews.
Before he became one of the most influential newspaper publishers in Germany, the late Axel Springer learned his trade at the Altonaer Nachrichten, a small paper near Hamburg. In 1941, it was shut down for failing to comply with Nazi standards.
The details of Mr Springer's life were not directly attacked by Mr Desmond this week when the owner of the Daily Express began his tirade against executives at The Daily Telegraph. The attack was based on speculation that Axel Springer could take over the paper, which is for sale.
Media observers traded conspiracy theories yesterday about what he was thinking when he asked Telegraph executives how they felt about the prospect of being "owned by Nazis".
But one reaction was universal: Axel Springer, the publisher of the Bild tabloid, was not remotely connected to Germany's Nazi past.
The second of the company's five publishing principles calls for the "reconciliation of Jews and Germans and support [for] the vital rights of Israel".
Axel Springer was established in 1946 after Mr Springer received a licence from the British authorities in Germany to begin publishing newspapers. His rise to prominence was peppered with controversy; in the late 1960s, leftist demonstrators criticised the Bild and other titles for being too anti-communist.
A person close to the group said Mr Desmond's outburst would do little to prevent the company's management from pursuing the Telegraph. The group declined to comment, but said it faced a similar backlash before its decision to publish a daily in Poland, where Fakt, a tabloid, has since become the country's best-selling newspaper.
Some people close to the situation argue that the negative reaction to Mr Desmond's accusation - that all Germans were Nazis - could have a positive impact on Axel Springer, which had expressed concerns about how the takeover of the Telegraph by a German company would be perceived.
One bidder for the Telegraph said the episode could reflect badly on the government which, he said, had perhaps not been diligent enough in considering whether allowing Mr Desmond, who made his fortune selling adult magazines, to own the Express was in the best public interest.
The German embassy in London issued no official reaction, saying Mr Desmond's comments "discredit themselves".
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