Hamburg
In April of 1991, a member of the Hamburg State Parliament, in a hearing recounting the discriminatory measures taken against the religion, exhorted her fellow members to join together in the next parliamentary term “in driving Scientology out of Hamburg”.110 In February 1992, a hearing on Scientology was held by the Legal Committee of the Hamburg State Parliament to take further measures to achieve that purpose. Various “experts” -- the majority of whom were opponents of the Scientology and other minority religions -- testified and their recommendations were adopted by the City Council of Hamburg. No representatives of Scientology were allowed to testify.
Subsequently, the same committee presented a list of charges and claims against the Church to the Hamburg government demanding that the government expedite measures to “deregister” the Church as a religious organization and that a “special commissioner” be appointed to:
handle any and all administrative actions against the Church;
examine to what extent the Church violates the healing practitioner laws;
examine what legislative changes should be passed to “protect people from Scientology”;
provide finances for an “intensive public relations enlightenment campaign” to warn the population about the religion;
publish a pamphlet attacking Scientology for use in schools;
ensure that Scientology does not receive tax exemption;
create a special commission to “deal with” Scientology and related organizations.111
In June 1992, the city of Hamburg adopted and implemented all of these recommendations so that, in the words of one politician, “we will carry on and we will free Germany from Scientology.”112 The city of Hamburg also appointed a “Special Commissioner” for Scientology within the Ministry of Interior to implement draconian measures designed to stop the growth of the religion and deprive parishioners of their human rights. Ursula Caberta, the member of the Hamburg state parliament demanding that Germany be free from Scientology, resigned her mandate and was put in charge of this state-governmental “Working Group Scientology”.113
In May 1993, the city of Hamburg published an anti-Scientology propaganda pamphlet called “Scientology, Labyrinth of Illusions” which contained uniformly inaccurate and derogatory information attacking Scientology and its adherents. The Minister of Interior wrote the foreword and this pamphlet was not only financed but also distributed as an official government publication across the country.114
These were not the first discriminatory measures stripping Scientologists of fundamental freedoms in Hamburg. On 25 April 1991, the state parliament enacted the following resolution against Scientology “to prevent the further expansion of this sect.”
1. Not to rent out any public halls to the Scientology Church and to firms connected to it.
2. Not to sell any real estate property to the above and in the case of sales of real estate, to make use of its right of first refusal in case there would be a danger that the Church of Scientology or any related or connected firm would be the interested buyer.
3. To examine whether state controlled real estate and property companies can be influenced so that no business relations with the Church of Scientology or related firms could be started or continued.
4. To examine to what extent it is legally admissible, not to give construction orders from the state to the Church of Scientology and connected firms.115
On March 26, 1992, the city government notified the Church of Scientology of Hamburg that it would refuse to rent out any public halls to the Church.116
This resolution applies to private organizations which happen to be owned by Scientology parishioners. A Scientology music company also became a target of the government. The city rented out the “Musikhall” to this firm, but refused to go forward when it discovered the firm happened to be owned by a Scientologist “as the city of Hamburg has been trying to curb the activities of Scientology.”117 In a subsequent legal action, the city contended that all artists of the firm were Scientologists which posed a “danger” that their songs and music could forward the ideas of the Scientology religion.
