Artistic Freedom Threatened In Germany

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
ARTISTS IN GERMANY

The German people’s love of art, music and literature is unfortunately not shared by their government.

The freedom to create and communicate an artist’s vision free from state interference is the most cherished of all freedoms and the most fundamental of human rights. Yet, the German government continues its policy to blacklist artists on the basis of religious belief.

Discrimination against artists in Germany because of their religion made international headlines in the summer of 1996, when politicians from the Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) “Young Union” called for a national boycott of the movie Mission: Impossible because its leading actor, Tom Cruise, is a Scientologist. Although the CDU is Germany’s ruling party, headed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl, not a single senior German politician spoke out against the boycott call.

The German movie-going public largely ignored the boycott. However, soon after, John Travolta’s movie Phenomenon opened in Germany. A federal member of parliament and other German politicians tried to block distribution of the movie because Mr. Travolta is a Scientologist. The CDU’s media spokesperson, far from denouncing these outrageous attempts at censorship, urged the German cinema’s self-regulating committee to ban the film. It was also announced that the German Ministry for Family Affairs would closely “scrutinize” the film for “references to Scientology“ — references which do not exist, as noted by the film’s screenwriter, Gerald Dipego. Mr. Dipego, as pointed out in subsequent media reports, is not a Scientologist and wrote the screenplay well before Mr. Travolta was cast in the film.

The first mention of Germany’s discriminatory policy towards artists occurred three years earlier, however. A September 1993 report by the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe and a number of United States congressmen voiced concern at the abusive treatment meted out to the American jazz pianist Chick Corea. Mr. Corea, an internationally renowned musician, was banned by the government of Baden-Württemberg from performing at a state-sponsored concert solely because he is a member of the Church of Scientology.

Mr. Corea has suffered a long line of discriminatory actions in Germany. The latest occurred last year, following a highly successful concert he gave at the Burghausen jazz festival. Acting on a direct order from the Bavarian Prime Minister, the Bavarian Minister of Culture instructed the festival organizers that on no account was Mr. Corea ever to be invited again. The sole reason — his religion.

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