The secret service in Bavaria have been called in to deal with a most unusual case - the suspicion that Scientologists have too much power in one of Munich's most famous state art galleries.
Scientologists are trying to join Germany’s upstart Pirate Party, it has emerged, just weeks after it was revealed that two regional party figures had previously belonged to the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD).
The Church of Scientology has been using social networks such as Facebook and SchülerVZ to gain young German followers, prompting intelligence officials to ramp up surveillance on the controversial group, a media report said this week.
The prospect of a ban on the controversial Church of Scientology dimmed on Friday with a campaign by Bavaria’s Interior Minister failing to gain traction.
Trouble is brewing between the Church of Scientology and German public broadcaster ARD ahead of the TV premiere of a drama portraying the controversial faith as dangerous and unethical.
The Church of Scientology is targeting Berlin and Brandenburg schools for a vague fact-finding mission, sending more than 500 letters to various institutions in recent weeks, daily <i>Der Tagesspiegel</i> reported on Thursday.
US actor Tom Cruise was "deeply moved" by playing the would-be assassin of Adolf Hitler in the movie "Valkyrie," he said in an interview with a German celebrity magazine this week.
Twelve extras injured during the filming of WWII drama Valkyrie are now suing the movie’s studio and its star, seeking €7.4 million in damages after tumbling out of a truck in front of Germany’s Nazi-era finance ministry building in Berlin.
A publicity photo for the upcoming Tom Cruise film in which he plays German WWII resistance hero Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg might have been altered to resemble the Hollywood star, according to the US internet magazine Slate.
Scientologists in Germany will face closer scrutiny after a decision in a higher constitutional court of North Rhine-Westphalia. The court found that Scientology is engaged in activities that are subversive to freedom and democracy and thus should be subject to further surveillance.
