D96450 CoburgCortendorf /
Germany
HERMANNSpielwaren GmbH
D96450 CoburgCortendorf /
Germany
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Many things have changed since the beginning of the old Max Hermann Teddy
Bears, but the excitement and anticipation remains at its peak at the beginning
of each year when the new teddy bear line is first introduced at the
International Toy Fairs. Many ideas materialized and many were thrown out
during the days, hours and weeks of preparation for the upcoming 1999 line.
Hermann-Coburg has produced teddy bears for the world for three generations. At the beginning of the 1920’s, Max Hermann presented 5 to 6 new models at the Leipziger Fair. Today the HERMANN factory introduces 10 times as many, which are now shown by his grandchildren at the Toy Fairs in Nuremberg and New York. Max Hermann would be overwhelmed with pride if he would be able to see his booth and the great selection of his beloved teddy bears as his company moves into the next millennium. What started with just a handful of teddy bears has grown into an amazing variety of unique bears each with their own personality. Goethe and Johann Strauss present themselves well as does Oetzi, the bear from the Stone- Age and now the career-driven Wall Street Bear. The old trademark of Max Hermann, the green triangle and the portrait "bear with the running dog", is still very evident on all teddy bears produced by the HERMANN-Coburg Company. This trademark symbolizes the strong values, ideas and commitment of a man whose entire life was characterized by his love for teddy bears.
With the beginning of World War I, it was becoming more and more difficult to produce the teddy bears because the mohair, which came from England, was almost impossible to receive. They had to now make the teddy bears from a substitute fabric called "Stoff-Ersatz". When his older brother Arthur was called to serve as a soldier, the young Max Hermann tried to continue the Hermann Teddy Bear manufacturing as best he could. In 1917, Max himself was called to serve in the army and so the Hermann Teddy Bear business was forced to stop. The many letters which Max Hermann wrote to his older brother Arthur, who was on the front lines, reflect the first difficult times of the Hermann Teddy Bears. These important time documents are invaluable. By 1919 the Hermann brothers had returned safely from the war, but it was in this year that their father, Johann Hermann died. The brothers and sisters decided to separate the family business. At that time, right after World War I, high unemployment, hunger and poverty was spread over Germany. With the desire to move ahead, Max Hermann stayed in Neufang in the birthplace use of the first Hermann Teddy Bears and founded in 1920 his own teddy bear company under the name "Max Hermann Teddy Bears". A new beginning was made. In 1921, he married his wife Hilde, whose 100th birthday was celebrated in December of 1998. His decision to marry Hilde was very beneficial to Max as she was the daughter of a Sonneberg toy maker and had studied toy design at the famous Sonneberg Industry School, a special art college for toys, where young, talented artists were educated. The artistic talent of his wife to design teddy bears along with her husband’s knowledge helped the young couple to succeed in those difficult years of their beginning. In 1922 their son Rolf-Gerhard was born. By 1923 the demand for Max Hermann teddy bears was increasing tremendously. The Max Hermann family decided to move from the village of Neufang to the town of Sonneberg. Here in the heart of the world toy capitol, the name "Max Hermann" became a famous and respected name. Domestic and international buyers constantly visited Max Hermann. Over the course of years many unexpected difficulties arose for Max Hermann and his teddy bears. But with the help of his strong will, manual skills and last but not least his passionate commitment to his teddy bears, Max overcame the time of inflation and world economic crisis. Even in the years of World War II, when many toy manufacturers had to change their production towards making war material, Max Hermann stuck to his teddy bear production. The customers were required to bring their own materials if they wanted to have a Max Hermann teddy bear made, because plush for production of teddy bears was not available on the open market. The scarce raw materials were strictly reserved for important war goods. With the separation of Germany into East and West, the situation for the old Max Hermann Teddy Bears became more and more difficult. The state Thuringia and the city Sonneberg were allocated to East Germany. Soon thereafter, Max Hermann foresaw that under communist regime the survival of an independent company would be impossible and would be the death of his teddy bears. The decision was then made at the peak of his life to start over. So it was on a Friday, in February 1953, that the doors of the Max Hermann factory in Sonneberg would open for the last time. That very night, Max Hermann left secretly along with his wife, his son and daughter-in-law and their new born baby, Ursula, his first grandchild, born in his hometown of Sonneberg, to flee through the last open hole in Berlin to the West. They took only the clothes they were wearing. Max Herman left behind all tangible assets, but he brought with him his knowledge and years of experience and respected name for producing high quality teddy bears known throughout the world. They risked everything for a new beginning in Coburg. On September 23, 1955, Max Hermann suffered a heart attack and died in Coburg at the young age of 56. He was never able to return to the original home of his teddy bears in Sonneberg. His dynamic and work-driven life came to an unexpected and sudden end. He passed all of his knowledge of making teddy bears to his son Rolf-Gerhard and gave his family the most precious gift of all in leading them and his teddy bears to Coburg for a life of freedom and a secure future. Even if many things have changed since then, the spiritual power from Max Hermann and his basic values reflect in all Hermann bears today. On May 8, 1999, will mark 100 years since a small boy was born into a toy maker family. The Max Hermann-Classic Birthday Bear introduced for this event by his grandchildren Dr. Ursula and Martin Hermann is a memory and reflection of Max Hermann’s life. Like no other teddy bear, it symbolizes everything that Max Hermann believed in and supported throughout his life - the classic, timeless, beautiful teddy bear that fascinates mankind throughout the world. |
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Max Hermann
was born on May 8, 1899, to Johann Hermann and his wife Rosalie, in a small
village in Thuringia, near the toy capital of the world, Sonneberg. Like
most inhabitants of this forest region, in the heart of Germany, Johann earned
his money by producing simple wooden toys. He traveled to different city
markets with his backpack full of toys and sold them to the public. As a
young schoolboy, Max Hermann had to learn to work in his father’s small
family business. When a deadline for a toy order had to be met, Max would
stay home from school to help finish the work. In spite of the hard work,
which Max Hermann faced as a child, he had a very enjoyable and secure childhood.
He was fortunate to have been brought up in the environment of an upright
family. At the beginning of the century, a sales boom for small plush bears
broke out in the United States. These bears were called "Teddy’s" bears
named after President Theodore Roosevelt who was president of the United
States at the time. It was not long before the first American buyers were
knocking on Johann Hermann’s door asking for "Teddy’s" bears. This
sudden demand for bears posed a great opportunity for the Hermann Company.
As a result, the three Johann Hermann children; Arthur, Adelheid and Max
accepted the challenge and on October 24, 1913, began producing the first
Hermann Teddy Bears. This is the landmark date when the HERMANN Teddy Bears
stepped into history. Max Hermann was only 14years old at the time and from
that day forward his fascination for teddy bears would never cease.