Political persecution in Germany did not only occur in the Middle Ages, the German Empire, under National Socialism or in the GDR: even in the Federal Republic, there have been attempts to intimidate opposition figures and dissidents and restrict their political or economic activities.
Erosion of Free Speech in Germany
“Censorship Networks Like the Stasi!” – Gerhard Schröder Slams Media Regulation and Public Broadcasting
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has sent shockwaves through the political establishment with a scathing attack on current media policies …
The Spiegel Affair and the Authoritarian Spirit of the Strauß Era: Parallels to the Present
It was the moment the young German democracy passed its true test of maturity. What began as a police operation …
§ 188 StGB: The Offense of Insulting Politicians – Instrument of Political Repression and Persecution?
§ 188 of the German Criminal Code (StGB), known as “Politician Insult” (“Politikerbeleidigung”), represents one of the most controversial special …
A Swiss Strategist in the Crosshairs: The Case of Jacques Baud and the Limits of Discourse
It is a development that shakes the foundations of Swiss neutrality and European freedom of speech: Jacques Baud, a former …
EU Slams X (Elon Musk) with €120M Fine – Sharp US Criticism
Brussels/Washington. The European Commission has issued its first major fine under the Digital Services Act (DSA) against a large online …
Red Alert for Fundamental Rights: EU Sanctions Against Own Citizens – Political Persecution Instead of Rule of Law?
By adding German citizens Alina Lipp, Thomas Röper, and Hüseyin Doğru to its sanctions lists, the European Union has chosen …
Historical Political and Religious Persecution
The Edelweiss Pirates: Youth Resistance Between Freedom and the Gallows
While the Nazi state attempted to force all youth into the Hitler Youth (HJ) and the League of German Girls (BDM), a courageous counter-culture formed in the working-class districts of Germany’s major cities. The Edelweiss Pirates were not an organized …
The Invisible Wounds: Political Persecution in the GDR and its Psychosocial Impact
Political persecution in the GDR was not a marginal phenomenon, but a central pillar of power maintenance for the SED regime. While the overt physical violence of the early years was later replaced by more subtle methods of “Zersetzung” (subversion/attrition), …
The “Hochnotpeinliche Befragung”: Torture in the Name of Justice
The term sounds like a relic from a dark era, yet the “hochnotpeinliche Befragung” (extraordinary painful interrogation) was a fixed, legally codified component of the German judicial system for centuries. Under the pretext of seeking the truth, the state practiced …
The Spiegel Affair and the Authoritarian Spirit of the Strauß Era: Parallels to the Present
It was the moment the young German democracy passed its true test of maturity. What began as a police operation against a news magazine turned out to be one of the gravest attacks on press freedom in the history of …
Tracing GDR Injustice: How to Research Stasi Records
Uncovering the past of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) is a significant and often emotional step for those affected and their descendants. The Ministry for State Security (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi, operated an unprecedented apparatus of surveillance and …