Erich Pabel began his publishing and bookbinding company in Rastatt (Baden) in 1949 with 21 employees. The company's Lore novels, the first to be released in Germany following the end of the Second World War II, were a great success and helped establish Pabel as a dominant publishing company during the 1950s and 1960s. By 1957 it was producing 26 different publications, including entertainment books, novels, and magazines.
In 1970 Hamburg publisher Heinrich Bauer bought out Pabel along with Munich-based company Moewig and Hamburg publisher Semrau Alfonso, creating a new imprint known as Pabel-Mowig Semrau. It was renamed Pabel Moewig-Verlag KG (VPM) in 2001.
