Intolerance & Discrimination Against the Scientology Community in Germany Today

SECTION V. ARTISTIC DISCRIMINATION

n the 1930s, Jewish artists in Germany were ostracized and denied the right to perform or display their creations.

Today, similar measures are carried out daily against Scientologists who are artists. They are blacklisted, denied facilities such as exhibition halls, excluded from artistic associations, boycotted and their performances canceled by government order.

Art propaganda is also used to degrade the image of Scientologists to the German people. In a study entitled, Art as Propaganda against Jews and Scientologists in Germany: Echoes of the Past Reverberate in the Present, Jewish historian, Stephen Feinstein of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, wrote: “Many of the attacks and representations of Scientology bear more than a slight resemblance to the misuse of art during the Third Reich in the anti-semitic campaigns against the Jews.”

Specifics instances of artistic discrimination follow:

September 1992, Celle: A World and Folk Music Festival planned to take place in Celle was canceled by the Youth Office of Celle because a music company involved was run by Scientologists.

May 1993, Stuttgart: World-famous jazz musician, Chick Corea, was invited to participate in a concert for the World Championship of Athletics in Stuttgart in August. The concert was canceled by the government of Baden-Württemberg, because Mr. Corea is a Scientologist. This incident caused international protest and media. U.S. congressmen, senators, artists such as B.B. King, Friedrich Gulda, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Bill Cosby and many others announced their support of Chick Corea.

August 1993, Hamburg: The City of Hamburg rented a hall to concert agency, A. M., then canceled at the last minute because the concert agency was owned by a Scientologist. In a subsequent court case, attorneys for the city argued speciously that all artists of the agency were Scientologists and that there would have been a “danger” that their songs and music could have “forwarded the ideas” of the Scientology religion.

Spring 1994, Kassel: The Chick Corea Quartet visited Germany as part of a European tour to perform musical concerts. Mr. Corea was invited to perform at the Opera House of Kassel, a state theatre in the German State of Hessia, on June 3, 1994. After the concert was announced and tickets went on sale, the newspaper Hessische Allgemeine informed the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art that Mr. Corea was a Scientologist. The Ministry of Science and Art and other state officials then publicly demanded that the concert be canceled and criticized the state theatre for signing an artist associated with Scientology.

1994, Kassel: The Deputy Chairman of the CDU in Kassel called for an inquiry of state theater officials who signed a contract with Chick Corea and publicly demanded cancellation of the concert as “Scientology and other sects must be hindered wherever possible.” The state government also notified the German promoter organizing Mr. Corea’s concert that it had “problems” with Mr. Corea’s performing due to his membership in Scientology. Indeed, the State pressured the promoter to agree to supplemental clauses to the contract forbidding Mr. Corea from “promoting” Scientology before, during or directly after his performance in Kassel in any way. The supplemental clauses provided that if a “violation” of these clauses occurred, the promoter would be liable for a breach of contract penalty of 50.000 DM and that additional legal steps would also be taken.

June 1994: Chick Corea’s association with the religion of Scientology was the subject of a demonstration organized and carried out by the Youth Union of Trier, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Youth Movement, at his open air concert in Trier.

October 1994, Munich: Musician and Scientologist Mr. W. worked in a music production firm near Munich. When the manager of another music production firm found out that Mr. W. is a Scientologist, he contacted the head of Mr. W.’s firm and urged Mr. W.’s dismissal. He refused, however, to meet with Mr. W. to clarify his accusations.

Artistic discrimination continued...