Editing Axel Springer (section)

== Friend of Israel ==
Springer's journalism did not explore the history of the Nazi-era in the manner of ''Der Spiegel'' or ''Stern''. Bild editor-in-chief Rudolf Michael (1952–58) was against "educating the readers". Nevertheless, under Karl-Heinz Hagen (1960–62) the newspaper began, sensationally as was its wont, to report on trials of Nazi war criminals, including in 1961 the Jerusalem [[Eichmann trial|trial of Adolf Eichmann]]. This was at a time when surveys suggested that only every second West German supported the prosecutions; that a third wished an end to the discussion of the [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] regime; and that 73% regarded Jews as "a different race".<ref name="Avidan" />

Next to post-war Chancellor [[Konrad Adenauer]], it has been said that "no German played a more significant role in the effort to repair his country's burdened relationship with the Jews, and to ensure its support for their state, than Axel Springer."<ref name="Kirchick">{{cite news |last1=Kirchick |first1=James |title=The Good Murdoch: Media magnate Axel Springer's significant, and unheralded, role in repairing German-Jewish relations |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-good-murdoch |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=Tablet |issue=8 May 2013 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130172631/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-good-murdoch |url-status=live }}</ref> It was a cause to which, as early as 1957, he dedicated his newspapers editorially and to which he made his own personal contributions.<ref name="Avidan">{{cite news |last1=Avidan |first1=Igal |title=The man on the hill |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-man-on-the-hill/ |access-date=14 February 2021 |work=The Times of Israel |date=4 June 2012 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511071218/https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-man-on-the-hill/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

As had Adenauer in the wake of his 1952 [[Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany|Reparations Agreement]], Springer found that in Israel "German money" was not universally welcome. During his first visit to Israel in 1966, Springer proposed a donation of 3.6 million [[Deutsche Mark]] ($900,000) to [[The Israel Museum, Jerusalem]], which would name an auditorium in his honor. Protesters took to the streets, and the Israeli newspaper ''[[LaMerhav]]'' declared that for the museum to accept money from a German would be a "disavowal of Jewish memory". (It was ultimately decided that Springer's generosity should be honored by a plaque).<ref name="Kirchick" />

Springer returned to Jerusalem on 10 June 1967, to celebrate, in the company of Viennese-born mayor [[Teddy Kollek]], the conquest of the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] in the [[Six-Day War]]. He had ordered his newspapers to cover the war obsessively and with an unapologetically pro-Israel bias, later joking that he had simply published Israeli newspapers in German.<ref name="Kirchick" /> "The Israelis", he commented on the front page of ''Bild'', "have the right to live in peace without permanent new Arab blackmails."<ref name="Avidan" />

Support for Israel is a commitment of their founder that Axel Springer SE sustains.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 June 2021 |title=German publisher tells pro-Palestinian staff to quit |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-axel-springer-tells-staff-quit-anti |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203010546/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-axel-springer-tells-staff-quit-anti |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boguslaw |first=Daniel |date=2023-10-26 |title=Axel Springer Fires Lebanese Employee Who Questioned Pro-Israel Stance |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/10/26/axel-springer-fires-employee-israel/ |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203010546/https://theintercept.com/2023/10/26/axel-springer-fires-employee-israel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It remains enshrined in the company's mission statement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Values |url=https://www.axelspringer.com/en/values |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=www.axelspringer.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031190945/https://www.axelspringer.com/en/values |url-status=live }}</ref>