Dear reader,
do you remember the time when climate activists (especially women climate activists) were the new political rock stars? Greta Thunberg and Luisa Neubauer walked in and out of government headquarters around the world, almost having to resist being embraced by politicians. That was at a time when many still believed that climate protection might be a little strenuous, but that it could be done without too much effort. Even the Greens, who absolutely no longer wanted to be a ban party, sometimes did so in the last federal election campaign. It was already clear to many at the time that this was an illusion, but they did not say so and did not act accordingly. Out of frustration, some climate protectors have radicalized towards the “last generation” and the climate stickers with which no one wants to take selfies or drink coffee anymore. They are more likely to be insulted as terrorists, many want to arrest them, maybe even beat them up. What does that do with the climate protection project, which unfortunately cannot take our sensitivities into account at all?
In dictatorships there were always artists who rose to become state artists, darlings of the dictators, pampered and promoted. Is Anna Netrebko, perhaps the greatest living opera star, such an artist, a dictator artist? Netrebko made her career alone on the stages of this world – but for a long time she allowed Putin and his regime to use her popularity for themselves. Although she celebrated her 50th birthday with a grand gala in a public concert hall in the Kremlin, she must have been aware of the international impact that the location and Putin’s message would have. Although she is now no longer allowed to appear after her statement against the war in Russia, she cannot shake off the reputation of having been close to the president. So boos have recently become part of their performance repertoire, albeit outside of the opera houses. Our author David Baum has followed the heels of a “diva non grata” and explores the question of how apolitical an artist can be today.
This week we are celebrating a rather sad birthday – the 40th anniversary of the publication of the “Hitler Diaries”, which triggered one of the biggest media scandals in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1983. The notebooks have been in our publishing house ever since. Our parent company, Bertelsmann, has now decided to hand them over to the Federal Archives, the authority responsible for safeguarding federal archive material. At the same time, the first conference of the renowned Munich Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) on the “History of the ‘Stern’ and its influential people” took place in Berlin this week.
In August 2022, Bertelsmann commissioned the IfZ with the independent scientific review of the history of our magazine. In February, the research assignment was expanded to include an investigation into how the forged “Hitler diaries” were dealt with. We will report to you on the first results as soon as they are available. Incidentally, the Federal Archives were once able to prove the falsification of the diary notebooks without a doubt, and now they will also archive them.
Last week we reported on the chaos days at Springer. It also dealt with the processing of the spectacular sex scandal involving former “Bild” editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt. In this context, a former “Bild” reporter sued Springer companies and employees in the USA. The case was settled, apparently in exchange for a cash payment from the company. My colleagues Johannes Röhrig and Uli Rauss have now been given an insight into a chat history that, at least in this affair, allows for a different reading than that rumored in the indictment. It’s not at all about defending Reichelt or questioning the credibility of the allegations against him. But “writing what is” also applies to him, which is why we are publishing this research.
Cordially you,
Gregor Peter Schmitz, Editor-in-Chief
