The founder of Burda Moden is 110 years old: how Anne Burda conquered the USSR
The woman who founded the legendary magazine "Burda Moden", Anne Burda would have turned 110... And it's high time to remember how much this woman did for several generations of Soviet women, girls and girls.
Remember how the pages of a magazine with patterns of fashionable skirts and blouses, several times redrawn and wrapped in foil, were passed from hand to hand? Ideas of makeup, Soviet women, who, in principle, do not know how to paint, also drew from "Burda".
And where without culinary recipes that were rewritten, but could not cook in any way - the products that appeared in them were not on Soviet counters. And yet "Burda" did its job - women opened the number read to the holes, passed from hand to hand, and plunged into an incredible, unprecedented world. And there was one woman behind it all.
Anna Magdalena Lemminger, she Anne, as she was called at home, was born at the end of July 1909 in Germany. Anne got married early, and the owner of the printing house Franz Burda became her husband.
Already at the age of 17, she clearly knew what high-quality and beautiful clothes should be. She also clearly understood that it's not about the budget, and everyone can dress beautifully.
If there is no money for expensive clothes, you can sew for yourself exactly what will best suit your individuality.
For almost 25 years, Anne could not share her discoveries with the world, as she was busy with her family and children. And so, probably, I would not have said anything to anyone, if not for a personal tragedy.
When she was already 40 years old, the woman learned that her husband had been cheating on her for a long time with his secretary, and she even gave birth to his baby. The grateful Franz gave his mistress one of his printing houses and a fashion magazine for this.
It all hit Anne painfully, and she decided to file for divorce. During the division of property, she succeeded through the court to snatch the same fashion magazine from the grasping hands of her husband's mistress, which was not popular and was rather unprofitable.
She approached the matter with enthusiasm, and transferred all her ideas to the pages, directing the magazine to an audience of women who do not have high incomes in order to buy expensive and branded things for themselves.
Tailors began to work with her, who checked all the patterns, sewed on them. Photographers also joined and took off their clothes, and the magazine began to provide high-quality illustrations. And things went uphill.
After a while, the unfaithful husband confessed, and kind Enne forgave him, but demanded that the mistress and the child move to another city, which was done. The husband became her junior partner.
The first issue of Burda moden was published in 1950, and the first issue was sold out completely, and therefore speculators were selling the rest of the circulation at prices ten times higher than the original ones.
In two decades, circulation reached 2 million and were translated into 14 languages of the world.
In 1987 Burda moden became the first foreign magazine to break into Soviet space. And our women are crazy about him.
Anne died in November 2005, she was 96 years old. The empire she built was led by her eldest son Hubert. Today the magazine is published in 100 countries in 20 languages.
