29.6.2007 von Caroline.

Washington, DC, June 26, 2007

In response to reports that the German Defense Ministry has decided not to allow the upcoming production “Valkyrie”, a film starring Tom Cruise as the World War Two resistance hero Col. Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, the Institute for Religion and Public Policy has sent a letter to the Dense Ministry which contained the following statement:

“Harald Kammerbauer, spokesman for Germany’s Defense Ministry, has issued a public statement that “Producers will not be allowed to film at German military sites if Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, ‘because he is a member of the Church of Scientology.’ This kind of utterance by a federal government spokesperson represents a flagrant case of intolerance.

The right of an actor to express his art should not be infringed simply due to his religious association and beliefs. This statement by Mr. Kammerbauer undermines fundamental rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of religion in contravention of the principles articulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and UNESCO’s Recommendation Concerning the Status of the Artist. It also undermines the right of the German people to appreciate the artists of their choice irrespective of race, color, religion or belief.

Simply put, Mr. Kammerbauer’s gratuitous remarks have no place in a democratic society and run completely counter to fundamental human rights. They do a great disservice to the Federal Republic of Germany. Under such circumstances, the only appropriate action is for the Defense Ministry to take immediate steps to sanction its spokesman by removing him from his office.”

Source: http://www.religionandpolicy.org/show.php?p=1.1.1924

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29.6.2007 von Caroline.

By David Rising
Associated Press Writer

Two hot-button issues in Germany — the Nazi era and Scientology — are being pushed simultaneously by a new film in which Tom Cruise plays the country’s most-famous anti-Hitler plotter, sparking controversy in Berlin.

Wed, Jun. 27, 2007 Posted: 17:09:25 PM EST

BERLIN (AP) - Two hot-button issues in Germany — the Nazi era and Scientology — are being pushed simultaneously by a new film in which Tom Cruise plays the country’s most-famous anti-Hitler plotter, sparking controversy in Berlin.Cruise, one of Scientology’s best-known adherents, is to play Col. Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg — the aristocratic army officer executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1944 — in director Bryan Singer’s new film “Valkyrie.”The film’s German co-producers say they were given permission to use the former German general staff headquarters in Berlin, where Stauffenberg worked and where he was executed, and that they plan a detailed, historically accurate treatment.

But word that a Scientologist would play Stauffenberg has rubbed some the wrong way. Germany’s government considers Scientology a commercial enterprise that takes advantage of vulnerable people, and critics maintain that one of its adherents should not be playing one of the Nazi-era’s few heroes.

Stauffenberg “is to be played by an actor whose sect, through dubious methods, attempts to lure people and make them pliable,” Social Democratic lawmaker Klaus Uwe Benneter said on his Web site. “This is a slap in the face to all upstanding democrats, all resistance fighters during the Third Reich, and all victims of the Scientology sect.”

Full article: http://www.christianpost.com…

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29.6.2007 von Caroline.

The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 26, 2007; 1:30 PM
BERLIN, Germany — Germany has prohibited shooting of the Tom Cruise World War II thriller “Valkyrie” because of the actor’s ties to Scientology.

Germany has long contended the Church of Scientology is not a religion but an exploitative, profit-based business concern.

Daily Variety is reporting this morning that the German Defense Ministry says the United Artists movie cannot be filmed at German military sites.

[…]Cruise met with U.S. Ambassador to Germany Dan Coats in 2002 in an attempt to get German officials to soften their views on the Church of Scientology, which has been officially monitored there since 1997.

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com…

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29.6.2007 von Caroline.

What better way to recreate World War II Europe than with a backdrop of intolerance? The German government is refusing to let Tom Cruise film his second world war epic “Valkyrie,” in their country for the simple reason that he is a Scientologist. While this may seem like religious discrimination, Germany does not consider Scientology a religion, but rather a cult “directed against the free democratic order.” That, and it’s not good for couches.

Source:http://blog.washingtonpost.com…

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29.6.2007 von Caroline.

Jerusalem Post Online
28 June 2007
By Miriam A. Shaviv
The life of a celebrity Scientologist isn’t easy. Just ask its posterboy, Tom Cruise. The avid follower of L. Ron Hubbard’s church has become better known for his religious leanings than his acting career in recent years, and the publicity that he calls to his philosophies is beginning to catch up with him. After announcing that he planned to produce and star in a film about a plot to kill Adolf Hitler, Germany’s Defense Ministry announced that the filmmaker would be barred from filming at German military sites crucial to production because of Cruise’s “cultish” beliefs. Germany does not recognize the Church of Scientology and says it masquerades as a religion to make money, a charge Scientology leaders reject.

Cruise is poised to play Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, leader of the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler in July 1944 with a bomb hidden in his “Wolf’s Lair” headquarters. The bomb went off, but only wounded the Fuehrer.

Defense Ministry spokesman Harald Kammerbauer issued a statement saying that the filmmakers “will not be allowed to film at German military sites if Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, who has publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult.

“In general, the Bundeswehr (German military) has a special interest in the serious and authentic portrayal of the events of July 20, 1944, and Stauffenberg’s person.”

Full article

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