Julius Friedrich Lehmann (28.11.1864 Zurich – 24.3.1935 Munich)

Julius Friedrich Lehmann trained as a bookseller and started his own business as early as 1890: he became publisher of the Munich medical weekly Münchner Medizinische Wochenschrift, later also publishing very successful medical textbooks. Politically he was involved in the Pan-German League. Its chairman Heinrich Claß held strongly anti-semitic views, and this rubbed off on Lehmann. He considered political Catholicism to be the main enemy of Germany and was firmly committed to popularizing the notion of ‘racial hygiene’, as reflected in magazines and books published by his company in the 1920s.

During the First World War he was actively involved in the movement to overthrow Reich Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, who did not support pan-German war aims, while in December 1918 he participated in a failed attempt to overthrow the Eisner government. He was also a driving force behind the ethnic-chauvinist and anti-semitic Thule Society. Lehmann joined the Nazi Party as early as March 1920 but was not a key figure. He purchased Hoheneck Castle in Central Franconia and used it as a venue for events, including those organized for the ‘Upland League’ led by his son-in-law Friedrich Weber. In 1929 he was involved in agitating against the Young Plan, while in 1932 he spoke out in favor of electing Hitler as Reich President. His company published numerous works to spread the ‘stab-in-the-back’ legend and discredit Weimar democracy.