Censorship in the Federal Republic of Germany
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The Federal Republic of Germany guarantees freedom of speech, expression, and opinion to its citizens as per Article 5 of the constitution. Despite this, censorship of various materials has taken place and continues to take place in Germany in various forms.
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[edit] Allied occupation
During Allied occupation of West Germany in the years following World War II, all printing was subject to Allied approval. Although no formal censorship process was in place, the Allies -- particularly the Americans -- carefully watched emerging literature for content it considered harmful. Sympathy with the Nazi cause and criticism of the occupation were considered causes for censorship.
The publication Der Ruf (The Call) was a popular literary magazine first published in 1945 by Alfred Andersch and edited by Hans Werner Richter. Der Ruf, also called Independent Pages of the New Generation, claimed to have the aim of educating the German people on democracy. In 1947 its publication was blocked by the American forces for being overly critical of occupational government. Richter attempted to print many of the controversial pieces in a volume entitled Der Skorpion (The Scorpion). The occupational government blocked publication of Der Skorpion before it began, saying that the volume was too "nihilistic".
Publication of Der Ruf resumed in 1948 under a new publisher, but Der Skorpion was not successfully printed. Unable to publish his works, Richter founded Group 47.
[edit] Constitution and the Index of Harmful Materials
In May of 1949, the German Grundgesetz, the new constitution, was passed and control of West Germany passed officially into German hands. Article 5 contains a section protecting the freedom of expression:
- Everyone has the right to free express and disseminate his opinion in word, print, and image, and to educate himself, unhindered, through any source. [...] Censorship will not take place.
However, there is a limiting provision:
- The limits of this right are found [...] at the legal designation of the protection of youth and the right of personal integrity.
This provision enabled the creation of the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien, or the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons. The Department is responsible for maintaining the Index of Harmful Materials. Materials on the Index are severely restricted in their sale and distribution: they cannot be sold by mail, and many materials can only be sold "under the counter".
Items on the index include pornography (especially child pornography), graphic media which glorify war and violence, materials considered to be anti-constitutional (such as the writings of the Red Army Faction), and material likely or intended to induce hate.
[edit] National Socialism and Holocaust denial
German protections for freedom of ideas and expression are superseded by various provisions against "anti-constitutional" politics, which usually (but not exclusively) refers to Nazism.
[edit] National Socialist parties
National Socialism is banned outright in Germany as anti-constitutional; it is illegal to found or belong to a Nazi party. Any party considered to be National Socialist can be banned by the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Germany's highest court. Likewise, publications in support of such groups are automatically placed on the Index, and some may be banned altogether.
Materials which express sympathy with National Socialism, however, are a more complicated manner. Ordinarily the printing of these materials does not constitute membership in a National Socialist organization and is therefore allowed. These materials are almost always placed on the Index.
[edit] National Democratic Party of Germany
The Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, or National Democratic Party of Germany, is a far-right nationalist political party with a strong support base in the Free State of Saxony. Although the party has no seats in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, it does hold over 9% of seats in Saxony.
In 2003, the federal government appealed to the Bundesverfassungsgericht to ban the NPD as an anti-constitutional, National Socialist party. Horst Mahler, a former member of the far left terrorist organisation Red Army Faction, defended the NPD before the court. However, the case was thrown out when it was discovered that a large percentage of the leadership were in fact undercover agents or informants of the German secret services. Since these were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further the ban.
Since the case, the suggestion to ban the NPD has been made several more times by prominent politicians, but the issue has never come to court.
[edit] Mein Kampf
Printing and public distribution of Hitler's book Mein Kampf is forbidden; private ownership and trade is allowed so long as it does not "promote hatred or war". The lesser-known "Second Book" is legal to print and trade, but it appears on the Index. The restriction on printing Mein Kampf is largely due to the copyright status of the book: the state of Bavaria owns almost every copyright. These rights will expire at the end of 2015, after which the legal status of the book is dubious.
In 1999, Mein Kampf was the second highest selling book on Amazon.com to addresses in Germany. The German government pressed Amazon to stop selling the book to German addresses in accordance with its ban; Amazon originally resisted, but then relented, temporarily stopping shipment to all non-US addresses. Later that same year, Barnes and Noble ceased sales of the book to Germany under pressure from German publishing company Bertelsmann.
[edit] Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany. § 130(3) of German penal code reads:
- He who, publicly or in assembly, denies or renders harmless the past deeds committed under the regime of National Socialism, is subject to imprisonment up to 5 years or a monetary fine.
Perpetrators of Holocaust denial can be tried in absentia and declared persona non grata, thus being barred from entering the country. Extradition treaties as relate to Holocaust denial are subject to political asylum pleas, but a persona non grata who enters Germany can be immediately arrested.
Among those who have been charged with Holocaust denial in Germany are the following:
- David Irving, who was declared persona non grata and has not returned to Germany;
- Germar Rudolf, who was sentenced to prison but fled jurisdiction; he was deported from the United States in 2005;
- Ernst Zündel, received a five year prison sentence on February 15, 2007 in Germany.
