The Friedmann family

The Friedmann family is a Munich publishing family that owns more than 18% of the Süddeutscher Verlag and founded the Münchner Abendzeitung (AZ) newspaper, which it then published for many years. The foundation stone for the family's publishing activities was laid by Werner Friedmann. He is now considered to be one of the most important journalists in post-war Germany. During the Nazi era, Werner Friedmann was banned from his profession and in 1945 took over the Bavarian section of the newly published Süddeutsche Zeitung. In 1946, he was retroactively granted one of the four licences and thus became a co-founder of the Süddeutsche. In 1948, he also founded the Abendzeitung (AZ), in 1949 the Deutsche Journalistenschule (DJS) and was editor-in-chief of the Süddeutsche Zeitung from 1951 to 1960. Werner Friedmann died in 1969, leaving behind three children (Anemone, Johannes and Florentine). His wife Anneliese, also a journalist, took over the publishing of the Abendzeitung and became a partner in the Süddeutscher Verlag. Anneliese Friedmann died in 2020 and her son Johannes took over her functions. In 2007, a dispute arose over the possible sale of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Several founding families wanted to sell their shares, but only the Friedmann family held on to theirs. Since 2021, Oliver, the son of Johannes Friedmann, has represented the family's interests on the editorial board of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The family's shares (18.8%) are represented by SV Friedmann Holding GmbH, whose shareholders are Johannes Friedmann (57%) and his sister Anemone Szczesny-Friedmann (43%).