Germany’s Stasi-style crackdown on free speech

While American leftists worry they have a Hitler among them, Germany seems to be taking its cues from a more recent leader, East German socialist dictator Erich Honecker.

Honecker maintained power through fear, coercion and a vast network of informants in the name of defending the state. Decades later, this thinking has returned with more sophisticated digital tools and a post-pandemic pretense of legitimacy.

But this new thought crime regime bears a strong resemblance to the culture of informants that thrived under the Stasi regime in East Germany, when citizens were pitted against one another.

A good example of this new secret police strategy is Simon Rosenthal.

Attack of the Mutants

A painter and conceptual artist, Rosenthal studied art history, philosophy and graphic arts in Bamberg, Paris and Dresden.

But what really made the 40-year-old famous was his resistance to creeping authoritarianism in Germany, which Rosenthal described as the current state of his home country:

“For me, Germany has changed a lot, especially since the corona policies began. Academic freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, privacy and property rights, and more and more often artistic freedom, are being taken away from us by politics.”

Atelier Simon Rosenthal

These Germans have spent years watching their beloved country transform into an absolute monster.

So it's fitting that Rosenthal is addressing this shift in a collection of poignant digital collages he calls the “Mutant” series. German authorities don't seem to like it.

And for good reason: The German Mutant directly quotes German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's infamous “vaccination creates freedom” comment to criticize the government's authoritarian response to the pandemic, a chilling echo of Nazi-era rhetoric.

As a result, Rosenthal was charged with “incitement to hatred” by the state-funded “hate speech” reporting portal Meldestelle REspect! and fined 3,250 euros.

Citizen informant

According to Rosenthal, “New whistleblower portals are constantly being created, and people are being encouraged to anonymously denounce the wrongdoings of others. A large part of society seems to welcome this and call it 'our democracy.'”

But this new thoughtcrime regime bears a strong resemblance to the culture of informants that thrived under the East German Stasi regime, when citizens were at each other's throats. The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but the specter of authoritarianism seems to have returned.

Rosenthal is due in court on Oct. 29. If he loses, he could face financial ruin, and his funds are already drying up.

“This case has also put a financial strain on me,” he noted. “I will have to pay the lawyers' fees, possibly court costs and potentially huge fines myself. This case is not covered by legal protection insurance, because if there is a charge of 'incitement to hatred', insurance companies will consider you to have acted with intent, which is just nonsense.”

The decline of democracy

He's right. He's right. On the one hand, we have Rosenthal, a lone artist fighting for his constitutional rights. On the other, we have the state using taxpayers' money to suppress dissent. If the state wins, the taxpayers get absolutely nothing. But if it loses, the taxpayers pay the price. This puts the people at a huge disadvantage. This is not just a legal case; it reflects the decline of German democracy.

And Rosenthal's fate could have far-reaching implications for all artists in Germany: “It seems as if the state is trying to deprive me of a right that was given higher status in the constitution after the end of National Socialism to enable artists to counter undesirable political developments,” he explains.

If the government is successful in using Rosenthal's case as a precedent, it will not only undermine artistic freedom but also deprive citizens of their right to protest and criticize.

As Germany slides deeper into the abyss of dictatorship, the trial on October 29th looks set to be much more than a legal procedure: it could signal the death knell for the freedoms that once defined the country.

If there was ever a moment to pay attention, it is now.

Political Long COVID

The case against Rosenthal also reveals how Germany's political and judicial systems are seriously compromised. As Rosenthal himself points out, “we must remember that the German prosecutor's office reports to the Ministry of Justice, i.e. to the ruling party, and is therefore not politically independent.” This is crucial: what Rosenthal is facing is not just legal action; it is a political case, a targeted attack against anyone who dares to challenge the growing powers of the state, which is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Rosenthal's art is more than just criticism: it is an act of resistance against a government that, in his words, “seems to hate our Constitution and, therefore, individual freedom.” (Sound familiar, American readers?) The very freedoms enshrined in the postwar German constitution are under attack by the state that is supposed to protect them.

He is right to point out the absurdity of the government's actions: while some European countries (not many) have moved on from their overreaction to the pandemic, issuing amnesties and apologizing, the German government is sticking to its failed policies.

“If that wasn't the case, the government would finally stop defending its corona policies, issue a blanket amnesty like other European countries, apologize for everything they've done to their people, and resign en masse,” Rosenthal argues. But the government is using “petty, spiteful actions” to punish critics like Rosenthal, damaging not only the reputation of the government but also the country itself.

Signs of hope

As Germany continues its descent into a bureaucratic hellscape where artists are fined for speaking out against the state and prosecutors function as government pawns, the question is no longer whether the country is heading in the wrong direction: the real question is how far the country will fall before its people fight back.

There are signs that Germans are tired of Police State 2.0. Conservative Alternative for Germany party Rapid increaseIts approval rating rose to 19.5%, the second highest in the country. Meanwhile, the far-left coalition government is crumbling, barely managing to get 28% of the vote. The Christian Democrats are leading with 32.5%, while the left-wing BSW is languishing on 10%.