Scientology Hate mail in mail boxes Berlin, Germany
September 8, 2000
Der Tagesspiegel
Unwanted mail in Steglitz and Zehlendorf: the Scientologists have sent their "Freiheit" magazine to 20,000 households in the two districts via a mass mailing - without address, return sender and without other information.

Jasmin Jouhar The source of distribution was the organization's center in Munich. Another 20,000 copies were distributed to pedestrians in downtown Berlin. Sabine Weber, Vice President of Scientology in Germany, justified her choice of the two districts, they had "the greatest need for information." The Scientologists wanted to instruct the residents of Steglitz and Zehlendorf about the work of persons and institutions of which the Scientologists disapprove.

The way it looks to her, "That is where SPD politician Rennebach comes from. She is the political spokeswoman of the SPD and closely allied to the Evangelical Church," said Weber. From what she says, she has also taken Reverend Thomas Gandow into her sights, political spokesman on sects for the Evangelical Church and who has his office in Zehlendorf. The magazine was distributed on his birthday in August and contains a defamatory article on him and his work. "It contains false allegations," said Thomas Gandow, who is looking at taking legal steps against the sect.

"Freiheit" says that Gandow "directs a whole army of cover organizations." He was described as "Evangelical Chief Inquisitor" and "chief architect of the discrimination campaign being run in parts of Europe against religious and weltanschauung communities." He was accused of consistently and systematically taking action against minorities - in the name of the Evangelical Church. The Berlin-Brandenburg Church has already made its statement supporting the minister. "That is really an attack against the Evangelical Church as a whole," said Thomas Gandow, "but the Church has not sent me into the desert yet."

The minister, who has been involved with Scientology since the 1970s and who has published diverse texts on the theme, is not surprised at the operation: "The involvement of the American management in Germany has gotten stronger. I have now brought their anger upon me, too." Scientology management was said to have directed that a harder line be taken in combatting critics. In any case, this edition of Freiheit also attacks Hamburg Senator of the Interior Hartmuth Wrocklage.

According to a statement from Sabine Weber, Scientology has also distributed 80,000 copies in Hamburg.

The Berlin post office reacts to the theme of Scientology with reservations, "We have a general obligation to accept and deliver," said post office spokeswoman Barbara Scheil. The business was not authorized to censor broadcasts. One could interfere only when a broadcast contained material pertaining to something visibly criminal. In the case of the "Freiheit" broadcast, it could not even be determined where the mass mailing had been dropped off. Barbara Scheil did not think that receivers of mail such as that could do anything about it.

"The customer can only appeal to the originator.

Personally, I don't see the slightest chance of that helping the next time."

--- Unofficial translations of German media, For non-commercial use only Recent events - http://cisar.org/trnmenu.htm Informational publications http://members.tripod.com/German_Scn_News Over 1200 articles sorted by date http://cisar.org/sortdate.htm

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