Values

I
t was an unexpected shock, and it went
deep. In 1949 books were being returned
to publishers by the boxload.
Booksellers simply couldn’t sell them.
This time, almost the entire range was
affected: Books were sitting on shelves,
BRINGING BOOKS TO READERS
Red Bertelsmann Lesering buses aim to catch the eye of new members in cities throughout Germany
Welcome to the club
In 1950, the Lesering – or Reader’s Circle – was born out of necessity.
It was an attempt to get people in post-war Germany reading, and also
to get Bertelsmann’s own business moving again. The result was the
Bertelsmann club business, and it was worth millions. At the time the
profits from this business provided a conerstone for entering other
media businesses.
heavy as lead. And it was happening at a
time when consumer optimism in Germany
had reached a new peak, what
with the introduction of the
Deutschmark in 1948. How could it be
that the market for books was practically
non-existent?
Germans were consuming once
again, but they weren’t hungry for
books. In 1949, people were interested
in buying things like clothing and cosmetics,
fridges and radios, mopeds and
furniture. The frustration in Gütersloh
is palpable. Just getting back into the
book business in occupied Germany
had been a massive undertaking.
Would all that effort prove to be for
nought? Bertelsmann’s very existence
is under threat. How can the company
ensure that its printers and >
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