Hubert Burda Media Holding is a German media group with headquarters in Offenburg. It originated as a small printing business, founded by Franz Burda Snr in Philippsburg, in 1903. In 1986, the corporate group was divided up between Franz Jnr, Frieder and Hubert Burda. In the 1980s and 1990s, the company developed into a major corporation; it is now one of Germany's largest media companies. Its best-known media brands include the magazines Bunte and Superillu, the German edition of Playboy, the news magazine Focus, as well as HuffPost Germany, HolidayCheck and XING. History Founded as a printing company From 1903, Franz Burda ("I"), the father of Franz Burda Sr ("II") and grandfather of Franz Burda Jr ("III") ran a small printing business in Philippsburg. The venture was largely unsuccessful, prompting Burda to start a new company in Offenburg, in 1908. In 1927, the company produced Germany’s first radio listings magazine, "Die Sürag", (subtitle ‘'The Large Radio Magazine’'). Its name sounded like a short form of Süddeutscher Rundfunk. Its initial circulation was 3,000 copies. In 1929, Franz Burda Sr took over the business from his father, along with the editorial duties for Sürag. He expanded the business significantly. In the early 1930s, the magazine achieved a circulation of over 85,000, and the staff grew from three to roughly 100. A second and larger phase of growth began in 1934, with the acquisition and development of new printing operations and the conversion to gravure printing. Business during the Nazi regime In 1938 Franz Burda and partners acquired a major printing facility, Großdruckerei, Papiergroßhandlung und Papierwarenwerk Akademiestraße Gebrüder Bauer in Mannheim. It was one of the largest and most modern printing companies in the German Reich, with some 250 employees. Its owner Berthold Reiss and fellow shareholders were Jews, meaning that they were forced to sell the business under the "Aryanization" laws relating to all Jewish-owned businesses in Nazi Germany. As a forced seller, Berthold Reiss was obliged to find a buyer for the firm or face the appropriation of its assets and his personal destitution. Reiss pitched unsuccessfully to several potential buyers before a mutual contact told him of Franz Burda's interest. At the time Burda did not have sufficient capital to buy the business outright, so he paired with Karl Fritz, owner of Südwestdruck. One of Fritz's contacts, Robert Wagner, had the high-level political and banking contacts necessary to approve the