Jewish Authors Find Welcome at new German Press

Esther von Krosigk
Founder, Hadassa Word Press

Jewish authors around the world are being invited to share their writing via a new imprint located in Saarbrucken, Germany. Hadassa Wordpress is the brain child of German author and publisher Esther von Krosigk. Von Krosigk has authored several novels and non-fiction works. She has also been involved in the reissue of many classic 19th century titles long out of print. I recently had the opportunity to interview Ms. von Krosigk and learn more about the new imprint.
Considering the impact that digital content now has on every aspect of communication and learning, I asked von Krosigk about the reasons that she focuses her company on traditional printed content. "Books and written testimonies of human life are still the main medium to understand the world. At the moment digital content is still only a complement to books. Words, the verbal description of our being, are still the method by which we discover the world and ourselves. In the future we will have many new ways to share our words but, for now, I still love books."

"Looking back at my whole life I can say that I was born to make books- to write them, publish them, and to create new imprints for our publishing house." Von Krosigk added, "Hadassa Word Press is addressed to Jewish authors in order to give them a platform to share their love of Judaism"  I asked von Krosigk how this new venture into Jewish publishing fit into the multi-faceted publishing house that she oversees. "Hadassa Word Press fits very well with another publishing project I founded a couple of years ago- Fromm Verlag- for which we invite Christian authors to publish with us. The response was overwhelming so we began to include books in several languages." I am happy to take that idea and apply it to the works of Jewish authors.

I still had the burning question to ask: Esther von Krosigk is not Jewish- why is she working so intensely to publish the works of Jewish authors? "I inherited the name Esther from my great-Grandmother who was Jewish. I never had any knowledge or real interest in learning about Jewish history or religion but all that changed when I visited Israel last year. I instantly fell in love with the country and decided to found a publishing house for Jewish authors." I then saw that beyond these personal reasons von Krosigk also sensed the need for action; "In central Europe we are seeing a neo-Anti-Semitism. Demonstrations in the streets and attacks on Jewish people made me aware of the new aggression. In this period of religious violence and controversy in so many parts of the world. I hope that our books can contribute to better understanding."
I asked her about her long term goals for Hadassa Word Press: "My intention is to give the Jewish community a voice through our books by sharing knowledge and understanding. Words are so strong- sometimes stronger than weapons."

After speaking with von Krosigk I too have high hopes for the new press. If you would like to learn more visit "hadassa-wp.com" to learn all the details about the press.