Pommer was born in Hildesheim, Province of Hanover, to Gustav Pommer and his wife Anna. His elder brother was Albert Pommer, who also became a film producer. After a brief apprenticeship with the Herrenkonfektion Machol & Lewin,[2] Pommer began his film career in 1907, with the Berlin branch of the Gaumont company, eventually taking over as director of its Viennese branch in 1910.[3] In 1912, Pommer concluded his military service and became a representative of the French Éclair camera company in Vienna, where he was responsible for film distribution to Central and Eastern Europe.