Posted on January 15, 2021 at 2:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The oldest bookseller in Germany has died, but her longevity isn’t even the most interesting part of Helga Weyhe’s story.

It’s not clear when Weyhe passed away; the ninety-eight-year-old closed the bookstore one day in December and was discovered to have died on January 4.

What is clear, however, is her devotion to the family business.

The New York Times reports that the H. Weyhe Bookstore was founded in 1840 and purchased by Weyhe’s grandfather thirty-one years later.

Management went from her grandfather to her father and then to her in 1965, during which time it was in Communist-ruled East Germany.

Weyhe, says her obituary, kept religious books stocked in that era, in defiance of authorities’ disapproval.

She has no descendants, but her extended family is hoping to find a new manager for the bookstore.

Read more about Weyhe’s remarkable life in the New York Times.

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Categories: Today in Books

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