Berlin Story Verlag

What Berlin Story Verlag does

Berlin Story Verlag is a privately held, Berlin-based specialty publishing house focused on the history of Berlin, operating from a single headquarters in Germany. The company maintains a catalog of approximately 200 titles spanning Prussian history, the Third Reich and National Socialism, the GDR era, the Berlin Wall, and contemporary Berlin, delivered across print books, e-books, DVDs, graphic novels, photo books, and children's books. Pricing is structured in unit tiers ranging from €5 compact editions and €7.99–€12.99 e-books through €10–€20 standard non-fiction, €25–€30 premium photo books, and €499 multi-volume collector's sets such as the Hitler Itinerar.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through one-time unit sales distributed across three channels: the publisher's own e-commerce website (berlinstory-verlag.de), the Amazon marketplace (including Kindle), and the physical retail shop at the Berlin Story Bunker museum, which the company operates at Anhalter Bahnhof and which also houses the Ukraine Museum. The catalog is offered in eight or more languages — German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, and Portuguese — supporting an international readership that includes history enthusiasts, Berlin newcomers and expatriates, and educational buyers.

The company has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent organization, no subsidiaries, and no reported executive team in the source data; it is described on its own site as the leading specialized publisher for Berlin history under the positioning 'Berlin macht Geschichte – wir machen die Bücher'. Beyond publishing, the Berlin Story Bunker and Ukraine Museum represent a notable physical-asset diversification, anchoring a current-affairs pivot (Kyiv Defence Operation 2022, 'Slava Ukraini') that extends the publisher beyond purely historical content.

Name

Berlin Story Verlag

Legal name

Berlin Story Verlag

Website

https://berlinstory-verlag.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Nonfiction Educational (Science, History, Nature) (EDAGAIAC), Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAAAI), Art, Photography & Illustrated Books Publishing (MPAJAAAF)

Keywords

• Historical book publishing
• Berlin history books
• Print and ebook publishing
• Multilingual history titles
• Museum publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (Physical): Sale of printed books through direct website orders, Amazon marketplace, and book retailers. One-time purchase model per title.
2. E-book Sales: Digital e-book distribution via Amazon Kindle and direct website downloads. Examples include 'In den Mühlen der Dienste' at €9.99 and 'Berlin Teufelsberg' at €7.99.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Berlin Story Verlag is a publishing house that produces, sells, and distributes a catalog of approximately 200 historical titles about Berlin, covering Prussian history, the Third Reich, the DDR/GDR era, the Berlin Wall, and contemporary Berlin. The core offering includes printed books, e-books (via Amazon Kindle), photo books, children's books, graphic novels, and DVD/video documentaries, sold directly through the publisher's website, the Amazon marketplace, and the on-site Berlin Story Bunker museum shop.

Product overview

Berlin Story Verlag is a publishing house specializing in Berlin history, offering approximately 200 titles across multiple formats including print books, ebooks, DVDs, and graphic novels. The portfolio covers German history from the Nazi era through the Berlin Wall period to contemporary Berlin, with particular strengths in Third Reich documentation, DDR history, Prussian history, and Berlin neighborhood studies. The company also operates the Berlin Story Bunker museum and publishes current affairs materials including military analyses of the Ukraine conflict.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Berlin Story Bunker: A museum operated by the publisher, documenting National Socialism history and serving as a location for the Ukraine Museum

Products and services

• Berlin Story Verlag Buchprogramm (Main Book Program) Historical books and publications about Berlin history, covering DDR history, Nazi era, World War II, Prussian history, the Berlin Wall, and contemporary Berlin. The catalog spans books, e-books, DVDs, graphic novels, and children's books aimed at general readers and Berlin-history enthusiasts.
• E-Books Digital editions of Berlin Story Verlag's publications available for purchase on Amazon Kindle and other e-book platforms. Titles include historical works on Cold War espionage, Berlin Wall escape stories, and broader Berlin history, typically priced €7.99–€12.99.
• Kinderbücher (Children's Books) Children's books about Berlin history including titles such as 'Die Charité – Ein Krankenhaus für Berlin', 'Berlins Geschichte für Kinder', 'Als die Mauer stand', and 'Alexander und Wilhelm – Die Humboldts'. Priced around €9.95 and aimed at families, schools, and young readers.
• Bildbände (Photo Books) Photographic books documenting Berlin's history and contemporary life, including street photography of neighborhoods like Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg, and architectural landmarks. Premium photography titles range €25–€30.
• DVDs / Video Publications Video documentaries and DVD publications, including 'Hitlers Berlin in Color', 'Wer war Hitler – Wer war Hitler' (3-DVD set, 7.5 hours), 'The Making of Berlin', and 'Alles über Berlin – All About Berlin'. Targeted at history enthusiasts seeking visual documentation.
• Grafik-Roman / Graphic Novels Graphic novel format historical publications, including 'RRWB – Räterepublik West-Berlin' covering the West Berlin council republic movement. Targeted at readers who prefer illustrated narrative formats for historical content.
• Berlin Story Bunker / Ukraine Museum Physical museum operated by the publisher at Anhalter Bahnhof, documenting National Socialism history and serving as the location for the Ukraine Museum (documenting the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine). Associated publications include 'Slava Ukraini' about Ukrainian resilience and military analysis of Kyiv defensive operations.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Aufbau Verlag: Long-established Berlin-based general publisher with significant history, GDR/Eastern European, and narrative nonfiction programs — adjacent rather than directly competing, with broader literary portfolio, but with material overlap on Berlin/GDR-era subjects.
• Hoffmann und Campe: Hamburg-based German independent publisher of narrative nonfiction, history, biography, and current affairs — comparable editorial model and premium nonfiction positioning, though with a much broader subject footprint than Berlin-only history.
• Penguin Random House (Germany): Global trade publishing incumbent whose German imprints (e.g., C. Bertelsmann, DVA, Pantheon) publish history, narrative nonfiction, illustrated, and children's books that directly compete with Berlin Story Verlag on adjacent Berlin/German history topics at scale.
• National Geographic Books: Publishes illustrated history, cultural, and city/country narrative nonfiction with global distribution — comparable product format (premium illustrated and history books) and pricing strategy, though with broad editorial coverage rather than Berlin-specialist focus.
• Dorling Kindersley (DK): Illustrated nonfiction and travel/city-guide publisher whose Eyewitness and reference series share the high-image-count, premium-priced trade book format with Berlin Story Verlag's Bildbände and history-for-visitors titles.

Direct peers

• Ch. Links Verlag: Ch. Links Verlag publishes German history, politics, and contemporary society titles from Berlin — a closely aligned niche publisher of narrative nonfiction and historical analysis competing for the same German general-trade nonfiction buyer.
• Gestalten Verlag: Berlin-based publisher of illustrated, photography, and design books — directly overlaps with the Bildbände/photo-book subcategory and shares Berlin headquarters, English-language international distribution, and premium-positioning strategy.
• Klaus Wagenbach Verlag: Independent Berlin-based publisher of literary nonfiction, history, and illustrated books — operates in the same German independent-trade nonfiction segment with comparable list size, format mix (including illustrated books), and Berlin headquarters identity.
• Berlinica Publishing: Berlinica Publishing produces English-language books about Berlin history and culture — the closest direct peer in the same Berlin-history niche, but focused on English editions for the international/expat market where Berlin Story Verlag's multilingual catalog partially overlaps.
• be.bra verlag: be.bra Verlag is a Berlin-based independent publisher with a strong catalog on Berlin, Brandenburg, and regional German history — directly comparable topic mix to Berlin Story Verlag, including photo books and neighborhood/district studies, targeting a similar German-language readership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/berlinstoryverlag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/berlin-story-verlag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Berlin Story Verlag