Henri Nannen

Who was Henri Nannen?

Henri Nannen was a famous German journalist.

His father was a police officer in Emden. After a one-year book dealer apprenticeship he studied the history of art at the University of Munich. In the 1930s he started working as a journalist. Being large, well-built and fair haired, he corresponded to the racial ideals of the time in Germany. This made him the speaker of the Olympic Oath during the 1936 event in Berlin. During the war he served in SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers, a propaganda unit in Italy. He got back to journalism while working for the Hannoverschen Neusten Nachrichten, the daily newspaper Abendpost and the youth newspaper Zickzack.

He was the founder of Gruner + Jahr and the news magazine Der Stern. He led the magazine from 1948 to 1980 to become one of the strongest in Europe. The first issue was published on August 1, 1948.

He gained popularity as an art collector and benefactor of the Kunsthalle in Emden, an art museum, that he built in 1983. The annual Henri Nannen Prizes are awarded in his honor.

He was married to Eske Nannen, a former child actress.