Owner of the Copyright for Two Collections of German Folk Songs (1939)

November 23, 2008 on 6:35 am | In mybachcars.com |
Owner of the Copyright for Two Collections of German Folk Songs (1939)
  • I am trying to acquire permission to reprint excerpts from the following collections of folk songs in an academic paper: Reichsjugendf hrung, ed. Wir M del Singen: Liederbuch des Bundes Deutscher M del. Wolfenbuttel: Kallmeyer, 1939. Reichsjugendf hrung, ed. Unser Liederbuch: Lieder der Hitler-Jugend. Munchen: F. Eher, 1939. As you can see, both collections were originally published by the Reich Youth Leadership. The publishing houses that printed these texts are now defunct. However, I understand that when a press goes defunct the rights to their previously published works are sold to another press. I need the name/s of the press/es or publisher/s that currently hold the rights to these editions as well as their mailing address, email address and phone number. The name of the person who handles requests for reprints would also be helpful. FYI - Many songbooks titled "Unser Liederbuch" have been published in Germany during the past century. I am looking specifically for the publisher who owns rights to the 1939 edition. If you are able to locate a publisher, please make sure they own the rights to the correct edition and not an earlier or later one. (The pre and post war editions contain different material.) If you need any further information, please let me know. Thank you so much!


  • That is a highly interesting question because of the historical aspects involved. Contrary to popular belief, publications commissioned by Nazi organizations did not become works of public domain after the end of the Third Reich (the rights in Hitler's "Mein Kampf", for example, are owned by the State of Bavaria today). Therefore, it's quite probable that the two songbooks are still protected property of someone, as you assume. I can't promise that I will be successful, but I'll try to find out who might be the current owner of the rights. Regards, Scriptor


  • I have done some research, and here is the first result: The Kallmeyer publishing house is not defunct - it still exists, albeit under a different name since it was acquired by a new owner after the war; for several, the new name still had the extension "formerly Georg Kallmeyer Verlag". So the current publishing house should own the rights in the songbook or at least know who owns the rights. I'm now doing research concerning the second book. Greetings, Scriptor


  • Dear danacgm, Here is the answer to your question! -- "Wir M del singen: Liederbuch des Bundes Deutscher M del" -- The songbook was published by the Georg Kallmeyer Verlag in Wolfenb ttel. That publishing house still exists, now as "M seler Verlag" since Karl-Heinz M seler took over the company in 1947. It's a relatively small publishing house with no specialized department handling reprint inquiries. Here is contact information: Moeseler Verlag Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Str. 8 38304 Wolfenb ttel Germany -- Phone: +49 - (0)5331 - 95970 Fax: +49 - (0)5331 - 959720 E-Mail: info@moeseler-verlag.de Website: http://www.moeseler-verlag.de/ -- "Unser Liederbuch: Lieder der Hitler-Jugend" -- This songbook was published by the Franz-Eher-Verlag in Munich. That was no ordinary publisher: Actually, the Eher-Verlag was the central publishing house of the National Socialist party, and it was property of the Nazi party since 1920. Being a Nazi organization, the publishing house was declared illegal and dissolved in 1945 by order of the Allied Control Council, the s were confiscated. The State of Bavaria was declared its legal successor and inherited the rights in intellectual property formerly owned by the Eher-Verlag. Among these were the rights in Hitler's "Mein Kampf", but also the in all other works published by Eher. The Bavarian authority holding all rights in the works of the dissolved Eher-Verlag is the Staatsministerium der Finanzen (State Ministry of Finance). So if you'd like to inquire whether you can obtain the rights to reprint the songbook, please refer to: Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Finanzen Odeonsplatz 4 80539 M nchen Germany -- Phone: +49(0)89-2306-0 Fax: +49(0)89-2306-2808 E-Mail: poststelle@stmf.bayern.de Website: http://www.stmf.bayern.de/ I hope that this will be helpful! Best regards, Scriptor Sources: M seler Verlag: Company History since 1921 (in German) http://www.moeseler-verlag.de/pages/history.html Wikipedia: Franz-Eher-Verlag (in German) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz-Eher-Verlag