Religious Apartheid: 1996 – Official Repression of Minority Religious Rights in Germany
In October of 1995, Bernd Lang, a trainer for the German National Fencing Team who was the chief assistant to the head coach of the team, was fired from the team and ordered to move from his residence at the fencing base after a Focus journalist “exposed” that Lang had read and enjoyed a book by L. Ron Hubbard.19
In September 1995, the newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger published an article under the Headline: “Is [the City Director] Allowed to Play Skat with a Scientologist?” The article criticized the City Administration of Mechernich for buying furniture from Paul Arenz, despite the fact that he was a Scientologist. The City Director was also criticized by an FDP spokesperson for continuing to play cards with Mr. Arenz.20
In July of 1994, a person elected to the board of the trade association of Quickborn lost his position when his religious affiliation with Scientology was discovered.21 In September of 1994, a Scientologist on the Board of Directors for a trade association was given a vote of “no confidence” by the association due to her religious affiliation on the grounds that public knowledge of such information would ruin the trade association’s ability to market its product in Germany.22 In April of 1991, a member of the Hamburg City Parliament identified businesses owned by Scientologists in the public record and labeled them as “mafia” and as “money launderers” and warned that they should be “stopped” so that the economy is not “infiltrated”.23
In March 1992, a similar list was distributed in the state of Northrhine-Westphalia by the administrative director of the state capital of Düsseldorf warning the general manager of the Düsseldorf Fair Ltd. company and targeting firms employing Scientologists such as the Kempe Real Estate Company Ltd. and SN Colors Ltd.24 In March 1993, the city of Düsseldorf issued an order against the general manager of the Kempe Real Estate Company Ltd., and cancelled Mr. and Mrs. Kempe’s right to apprentice young people in the profession of real estate broker due to their religion.25 A campaign “exposing” the owner of SN Colors Ltd. as a Scientologist resulted in the business losing over 250,000 marks. The owner was forced to sell the business or face bankruptcy. In addition, he was expelled from the “Rotary Club”, his family was threatened, and his 4 year old daughter was rejected at the kindergarten, all due to his being a parishioner of the Scientology religion.26
In the State of Rhineland-Palatinate a Scientologist and businessman, Werner Nolte, became the target of an extensive media campaign against his business and family in 1993 simply because he is a parishioner of the Church of Scientology. As a result, business partners cancelled their relationships with the firm and hundreds of employees were endangered. Mr. Nolte turned to his State Minister of Justice asking for protection. The Minister of Justice personally responded on the 22nd of January 1993 by writing that he would do everything to fight Scientology and Mr. Nolte would have to suffer the financial consequences due to his religion. He urged Mr. Nolte to renounce his religion if he wanted help.27
In June 1993, a German TV talk show host, Thomas Gottschalk, was “accused” of being a Scientologist. Because of adverse publicity identifying him as a Scientologist, Mr. Gottschalk publicly announced that he was not a Scientologist, had nothing to do with the Church and would sever his relationship with his friend who was a Scientologist.
Sect Filters
The fever pitch to isolate and ostracize Scientologists by economically blacklisting and boycotting anyone associated with Scientology is illustrated by a typical inflammatory article in the April 1995 edition of Berliner Economics, an Industry and Trade Chamber publication, against Scientology. The article urges businessmen to include clauses in contracts requiring one to declare that they are not associated with Scientology to ensure that no business is done with someone who happens to be a Scientologist. This method to ostracize and punish individuals because of their personal beliefs and association is described and applauded in the article as a “sect filter” -- chilling words which bear a haunting resemblance to slogans of intolerance such as “ethnic cleansing”. Model language is provided for contracts disavowing any association with Scientology.28