“Jews are denied the right to hold public office or civil service positions.”
— Reichsminister of Interior Frick, 1933
“In Hessia ... the socialist faction leader, Kurt Widmann, moved for Scientology companies to be excluded from public contracts.”
— Focus magazine, August 18, 1996
n the early 1930s, the Nazis took extreme measures to eradicate the Jewish people from society—government, professions, and social, educational and cultural institutions.
Today, certain German officials are heading down the same path. This time their target is another religion—Scientology—and the abuses emanate primarily from another ruling party—the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Scores of cases of discrimination and human rights abuses against Scientologists have been documented for American and international authorities. Since 1993 alone, the United States State Department, the United Nations, the Helsinki Commission, U.S. Congressmen and Senators, scholars and historians have condemned Germany as a result.
The German government’s reaction, repeated this year in a response to a report of a United Nations rapporteur, is to deny the existence of a problem.
Inside Germany, Bavaria’s civil service decree against Scientologists has been condemned by all those in German political and religious sectors who have the integrity to recognize wrongs and to voice resistance. Among them were the head of one of Germany’s parliamentary committees, and the chairman of the Central Committee of Jews in Germany, Ignatz Bubis.
Incited by such government discrimination, many German companies demand their employees sign declarations attesting they are not Scientologists. Scientologists are routinely dismissed from their jobs when their religious affiliation becomes known.
The case of Georg Frederic is illustrative [to protect him from reprisals, his name has been changed]. A fully qualified engineer and a senior executive with a major German company, Georg was in charge of contracts worth 40 million DM with major automobile manufacturers. His record was outstanding and he was about to be promoted. Then, in December 1995, two employees complained that Georg was a Scientologist. Georg was called before the owner and asked if he was prepared to make “compromises” about his religious affiliation. Georg refused, stating that his religion had nothing to do with his job. He was fired the next day, even though his contract continued until September 1996.
Georg sued for wrongful dismissal. In its defense, the company filed a resolution signed by the board of a major automotive firm stating it would not enter into contracts with individuals or companies associated with Scientology. Georg’s company claimed that if it continued to employ Georg, it ran the risk of losing multi-million dollar contracts.
The German court rejected this argument and found Georg’s dismissal illegal, and also awarded him compensation.
The automotive firm—the German subsidiary of a U.S. automaker—whose board resolution was used by Georg’s company to excuse his termination has since revoked their discriminatory policy. This was the result of direct orders sent from the U.S. headquarters of the company when they learned of the illegal policy of their German branch in October 1996.
German government officials responsible for such economic and business discrimination have yet to even acknowledge that a situation exists.
German officials have refused every request to engage in dialogue to resolve the discrimination occurring in their country.
“Never again” must not be an idle slogan, it must be a promise we keep. True, no one has been killed or hauled off to death camps. But history has taught us that we would be at fault if we stood by and did not point out the alarming similarities between the 1930s and today. German officials protesting these comparisons should stop recreating the past and they will remind no one of it.
Germany Then and Now
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