29 Jul 2009 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, minipost
German government plans to ban violent videogames will have to be put on hold, after a successful internet petition by German gamers. The e-petition, hosted on the official forums of the Bundestag, the German parliament, has passed the 50,000 signatures necessary to force a government review. Last month the country’s 16 interior ministers called for a ban on the creation and distribution of games involving violent acts against human or human-like characters. Read more here
27 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
Jürgen Rieger, the vice-president of Germany’s far right NDP party, has submitted plans to open a museum intended to celebrate the Third Reich’s “Strength through Joy” programme. But critics have accused Rieger of using the museum as a way to spread pro-Nazi propaganda. Ralf Schmidt, a spokesman for the city, said: “We will use every legal means at our disposal to stop this from becoming a reality.”
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24 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
German prosecutors have decided to take no action against an artist who created a garden gnome raising its right arm in a Nazi salute. They say the gold-painted gnome was mocking the Nazis rather than promoting their return. However, the prosecutors in Nuremburg, warned against any attempt to copy the idea behind the exhibit. Read more here
20 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
A garden gnome giving the Nazi salute has landed a German artist in trouble with the authorities in Nuremberg. Prosecutors are investigating whether the gnome, which went on show in one of the city’s galleries, breaks the strict law banning Nazi symbols and gestures. The 59-year-old artist, Ottmar Hoerl, has been president of Nuremberg’s Academy of Fine Arts since 2005. Read more here
