New Sect Skirmish

Hamburg's Scientologists get help from the USA

Hamburg, Germany
April 25, 2000
http://www.abendblatt.de/
Hamburger Abendblatt

The pitch is again increasing. While the Director of the Interior Agency's Work Group on Scientology, Ursula Caberta, is saying that Scientology is making a more aggressive showing, the organization is accusing Caberta of "intentional public manipulation."

From Caberta's viewpoint "the millions in aid" from the USA for the Hamburg Scientologists is "a declaration of hostility." Ever since Hamburg has been dealing directly withe their U.S. headquarters, she said, the organization has been making a more aggressive showing in the Hanseatic City.

"Scientology units are regarded as having been successful when they bring as much money and people into the center as possible," Caberta believes. Until the early '90s, she said, Hamburg had been the "most successful group worldwide." But after a large number of people, including those well-to-do, left Scientology in the Hanseatic City, it was "economically at the end of its rope." The headquarters in Los Angeles made about 20 million marks available for a new building for the organization in downtown Hamburg. "Up to that point, a bankrupt unit had never been re-financed from the USA," said Caberta. At the moment, she said, Scientology was not doing well in Germany, but that did not mean that the fight against this new form of political extremism was going to cease.

In response, Hamburg Scientology spokesman Frank Busch stated that Caberta was "driven by boundless discriminatory delusion."

He said that she was serving herself from "dubious experts" like, recently, U.S. American Robert Minton, who Busch stated was involved in an international money-laundering scandal. Scientology had written a letter to inform Interior Senator Hartmuth Wrocklage and his office colleagues in the German states on that account.

(scho / lno)


Letters to the Editor

regarding: Scientology: Big Brother is helping

Hamburg, Germany
January 16, 2000
FOCUS 2/2000

The consequences of globalization (52/99)
Scientology: Big Brother is helping

The time is slowly approaching for the USA to be aware that other concepts of religion are prevalent in other parts of the world - in this case, Europe. You might be arrogant if the Germany authorities have to instruct you as to how they deal in Germany with an undemocratic, totalitarian organization like the Scientology Church.

Michael Buerger
Schorndorf


The USA is completely justified when they criticize the reigning intolerant attitude of Scientology in Germany. Exactly as the Turkish visiting laborers have coincidentally brought Islam to Germany along with the work force, it seems only logical that the massive appearances of McDonald's, Disney, Wal-Mart or Coca-Cola also opens the German market to American sects. Anybody who supports a multi-cultural society, globalization and the liberal market economy has to also accept what it brings with it.

Alexander Reisenhofer
Lengerich


Scandal

Scientology celebrates PR operation
Experts succumb.

"Robin Direkt" Press Release
March 3, 1999

The champagne corks are popping at Scientology in Germany and in the USA. The book which appeared today, "Staatsfeind Scientology ?" ["Public Enemy Scientology ?"] by Thomas Kruchem is being celebrated by Scientology as the most important PR victory of the 1990's. The book, as already announced in advance by "Focus" magazine Nr. 6 of February 8, 1999, is being put on the market today by the Koehler & Amelang publishing company - and the Scientology OSA secret intelligence department has already been advertising it for weeks from Hamburg to Munich. Anybody familiar with the Scientology strategies will have to be startled just at the table of contents.

From the USA to Germany, the cadre department of the Scientology secret service has readily given statements and granted publication license, an act unheard of by those in the know as well as by minor radio journalists of the SWR who are ill-versed in the theme. Nothing new - that is pure, successful, Scientology PR strategy. The fact is that Scientology has never granted publication rights, not to mention those mentioned here, celebrating euphorically inside the organization, without having profited from it. Anybody familiar with Scientology and its secret service knows by which means information is customarily quashed. Editorial offices know the methods which have been set in motion to stop their broadcasts and articles on Scientology.

Scientology has succeeding in having its assistant, Kruchem, spread important image-polishing disinformation. So that the statements of the people who pull the strings in Scientology have the necessary publicity, however, a special trick has been applied. One interviews not only the cadre Scientologists of the secret service, but also their opponents. Presented to the public as harmless, a Scientology operation has succeeded with perfidious PR strategy. The same "experts" from the realms of state, church and ex-Scientologists who like to present themselves in the media as "super-informed" are left with egg on their faces. And they allow themselves to be used and therefore can be led into having their ridiculousness exposed. That just goes to show you how much knowledge these "experts" really have about the dangerousness and the strategies of Scientology. It is a double scandal that such people are being paid with tax money for their jobs as "informed experts". They have proven that they are incapable of seeing through such a strategic method of procedure. They have not followed up and found out that even an Interior Minister like Dr. Beckstein can be led on. These "experts" are more interested in getting their names mentioned than in the work for which they are paid.

Scientologists are advertising the book and, according to statements by informants, "piles" of it have already been distributed internally. Worldwide, I do not know of a single information book which has been advertised and distributed by Scientology. Thomas Kruchem also proves without question in his own broadcaster, SWR, that he is available, as an independent journalist to perform other services for Scientology. He wanted to personally intervene on February 25 to prevent the important, the outstanding documentary by Peter Reichelt and Ina Brockman about the Scientology prison camp entitled "Missing in Happy Valley - Scientology's rehabilitation." Kruchem was sent straight from Scientology's secret service headquarters in Los Angeles with the material he needed to use against his writer colleagues in order to make them untrustworthy within the same broadcasting studio. We have a copy of the letter with the fax symbols of the office of secret service chief Kurt Weiland to Kruchem, the SWR journalist. Our informants tell of celebration inside Scientology, and how happy they are with this "crazy journalist Kruchem" there. Kruchem has written letters which cannot be outbid for refinement. He presented himself to the editorial staff as a "concerned" journalist who is "warning" the broadcaster about the team of Reichelt & Brockmann.

Besides that, he presents himself as a "Scientology specialist". His method of operation shows that, at least in the execution of Scientology strategies, he is an expert. If Kruchem would have succeeded with his show stopper at SWR, a very important information segment about the Scientology prison camps would have been prevented. Kruchem operated in SWR with a letter that he had written to the Scientology prison camp, to none other than Wiebke Hansen - the former Hamburg Scientology chief - who has been committed to the prison camp because of an "offense." He asserted that Wiebke Hansen had beseeched him to prevent the broadcast on her. Anybody knows that it is not so simple for one to write such a letter from the Scientology prison camp. This letter was a Scientology weapon in the hands of correspondent Kruchem, who promptly used it. The Scientology headquarters in the USA wanted to stop this film at SWR and gave Kruchem the instrument necessary to do it. This proves that a journalist is letting himself be manipulated here. And now he has also been successful in harnessing certain "experts," to help Scientology in their efforts to introduce American relations in Germany. As the Scientology leader said, "we'll bring them all to their knees."

The example here shows that they do not have to force every one.

Renate Hartwig