Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)
Fredric John Warburg (27 November 1898 – 25 May 1981) was a British publisher best known for his association with the author George Orwell. During a career spanning a large part of the 20th century and ending in 1971, Warburg published Orwell's major books Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), as well as works by other leading figures such as Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. Other notable publications included The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa, Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Warburg is an important figure in the history and study of Cold War propaganda due to his work with Orwell's widow Sonia Orwell in a collaboration with the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret propaganda wing of the British Foreign Office, which helped to increase the fame of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. With Warburg's support, the IRD was able to translate Animal Farm into more than 16 different languages, and for British embassies to disseminate the book in more than 14 countries for propaganda purposes. Warburg was also involved in the sale of the movie rights to Animal Farm to the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This deal resulted in the creation of the 1954 propaganda film Animal Farm, which became the first feature-length animated film ever to be made in Britain.