The publishing house was initially established in Florence in 1896 and later moved to Leipzig in 1897. It was based in Jena for much of its operation.
Diederichs Verlag was known as a "Kulturverlag" (cultural publisher), publishing a wide range of works including literary, philosophical, historical, political, and general cultural books. The house was associated with several Nobel Prize winners and was at the forefront of avant-garde cultural movements, earning international recognition.
Eugen Diederichs was a neoconservative publisher who opposed many principles of modern industrial society. His vision was rooted in the ideas of Paul de Lagarde, Friedrich Nietzsche, German Romanticism, and philosophical Idealism. He advocated for an organic national community, or "Volksgemeinschaft," which was a central theme in his work.
Diederichs was known for his financial patronage of authors, often incurring significant financial losses to publish works he deemed culturally or politically important. This included supporting authors like Hans Blunck and publishing journals such as "Die Tat," which cost the firm substantial amounts annually.
The publishing house served as a bridge between the prewar and postwar eras, linking cultural critics of the nineteenth century with the young generation of neoconservatives active after World War I. Despite the challenges posed by the Weimar Republic and later the rise of the Third Reich, Diederichs Verlag remained a significant cultural force in pre-Nazi Germany.
