Artistic Freedom Threatened In Germany
Free Spirits of Germany
In early August, an art exhibition entitled, “Free Spirits of Germany,” took place in Los Angeles. Opened by actress and art collector Anne Archer, it brought together for the first time a number of German artists who have experienced discrimination based on their membership of the Scientology religion. The exhibition marked the beginning of their quest to end religious intolerance in their native Germany.
To commemorate the significance of “Free Spirits,” the personal accounts of religious intolerance faced by these artists are told in the following pages. Their stories are both unique and typical. Unique, in that each has his own particular experience to relate. Typical, in that unfortunately, such discrimination is all too common in today’s Germany. These histories serve as an example of increasing government-instigated and government-condoned suppression of artistic freedom in Germany.
WAKI ZÖLLNER:
A fine artist and sculptor, Waki Zöllner was first caught by the tentacles of hate and
religious discrimination in September 1996. Requested by his home town to bid for a special sculpture planned for a local kindergarten, Mr. Zöllner gave a quote that covered only the cost of materials. The kindergarten director was delighted, as was the town mayor, the deputy mayor and the architect of the project. An agreement was quickly reached so the project could go forward.
Then Waki’s membership in the Church of Scientology came up. Two days later, a local organization dubbing itself “Friends of the Kindergarten Association,” requested that the agreement be withdrawn. Mr. Zöllner objected, but found he had no recourse. The entire board of the town came out against him. A project that only a few days earlier had been firmly agreed upon was scrapped.
The sole basis for cancellation of the agreed upon project was Mr. Zöllner’s exercise of his constitutional right to freedom of religion.
Continued...
