Emanuel Querido
Encyclopedia
Emanuel Querido was a successful Dutch
publisher as the founder and owner of N.V. Em. Querido Uitgeversmaatschappij, which published Dutch titles, and of Querido Verlag, which published titles of German writers in exile from Nazi Germany. Although he and his wife were killed by the Nazis in 1943, his company has gone on to publish several important authors.
. The bookstore became a popular meeting-point for Dutch intellectuals. Querido had close connections with the diamond-polishing trade and supplied the library of the Dutch labour union for diamond workers. When the bookstore started to become profitable, he turned to publishing books, such as a translation of Schopenhauer's
Parerga and Paralipomena
. The bookstore became a dispatching bookstore/publisher in Bloemendaal
in 1911, but business did not go well and in 1913 the shop had to close.
After several other jobs Querido got the opportunity to start a publishing house in Amsterdam, under his own name, near the Keizersgracht, in 1915. Meanwhile, he also wrote a large, ten-part work titled Het geslacht der Santeljano's (The lineage of the Santeljanos), in which he criticized his brother, the writer Israël Querido, of whom Emanuel was very jealous.
In 1934, Querido started the Salamander-series, the first Dutch true paperback
series, a year before the first Penguin
was published.
In 1933, after the rise of Hitler in Germany, a lot of German authors of democratic attitude (and often Jewish) fled to the Netherlands. Because they could no longer publish in Germany, Querido offered to publish their works. He set up a separate publishing house for the political exiles under the German term, Querido Verlag, directed by the German publisher Fritz Landshoff. From 1933 to 1940, Landshoff would publish 110 works in German, so-called German exile-literature. In this literature the exiles fought against the Nazi regime. The exiles tried to convince their guest countries and the whole world that the Nazi regime was at the point of starting a war to rule the whole world.
Only a few days after the occupation of Amsterdam, the Querido publishing house was struck by the German secret police Gestapo
. They wanted to destroy this center of resistance. Querido had to leave the publishing business and with his wife retired to the town of Laren
where he had owned a house since 1929. The publishing company was put under the control of a national-socialist manager. Fritz Landshoff, an enemy of the Nazis and a Jew, was by chance in London during the German advance to the Netherlands and succeeded in escaping to the USA In 1943. Emanuel Querido and his wife went into hiding in the nearby town of Blaricum
. They were however betrayed; both fell into German hands and were killed by the Nazis in Sobibor extermination camp
on July 23, 1943.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
publisher as the founder and owner of N.V. Em. Querido Uitgeversmaatschappij, which published Dutch titles, and of Querido Verlag, which published titles of German writers in exile from Nazi Germany. Although he and his wife were killed by the Nazis in 1943, his company has gone on to publish several important authors.
Professional biography
In 1898 he decided to found a bookstore at the Binnen-Amstel in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. The bookstore became a popular meeting-point for Dutch intellectuals. Querido had close connections with the diamond-polishing trade and supplied the library of the Dutch labour union for diamond workers. When the bookstore started to become profitable, he turned to publishing books, such as a translation of Schopenhauer's
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
Parerga and Paralipomena
Parerga and Paralipomena
Parerga and Paralipomena is a collection of philosophical reflections by Arthur Schopenhauer published in 1851...
. The bookstore became a dispatching bookstore/publisher in Bloemendaal
Bloemendaal
Bloemendaal is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. According to the Dutch Central Statistical Bureau, Bloemendaal is the wealthiest place in the Netherlands.-Population centres :...
in 1911, but business did not go well and in 1913 the shop had to close.
After several other jobs Querido got the opportunity to start a publishing house in Amsterdam, under his own name, near the Keizersgracht, in 1915. Meanwhile, he also wrote a large, ten-part work titled Het geslacht der Santeljano's (The lineage of the Santeljanos), in which he criticized his brother, the writer Israël Querido, of whom Emanuel was very jealous.
In 1934, Querido started the Salamander-series, the first Dutch true paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
series, a year before the first Penguin
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
was published.
In 1933, after the rise of Hitler in Germany, a lot of German authors of democratic attitude (and often Jewish) fled to the Netherlands. Because they could no longer publish in Germany, Querido offered to publish their works. He set up a separate publishing house for the political exiles under the German term, Querido Verlag, directed by the German publisher Fritz Landshoff. From 1933 to 1940, Landshoff would publish 110 works in German, so-called German exile-literature. In this literature the exiles fought against the Nazi regime. The exiles tried to convince their guest countries and the whole world that the Nazi regime was at the point of starting a war to rule the whole world.
Only a few days after the occupation of Amsterdam, the Querido publishing house was struck by the German secret police Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. They wanted to destroy this center of resistance. Querido had to leave the publishing business and with his wife retired to the town of Laren
Laren
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called 't Gooi, it is the oldest town in that area. It is one of the richest towns in the Netherlands, along with its neighbour Blaricum...
where he had owned a house since 1929. The publishing company was put under the control of a national-socialist manager. Fritz Landshoff, an enemy of the Nazis and a Jew, was by chance in London during the German advance to the Netherlands and succeeded in escaping to the USA In 1943. Emanuel Querido and his wife went into hiding in the nearby town of Blaricum
Blaricum
Blaricum is a municipality and village in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.It is known for its many monumental farm buildings, local cafes and restaurants, nature, several annual community events and extensive up-market residential areas...
. They were however betrayed; both fell into German hands and were killed by the Nazis in Sobibor extermination camp
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
on July 23, 1943.