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
A Social Democrat member of the Reichstag has moved to the Pirate Party in a protest against web censorship legislation, becoming the party’s first MP in the process. Read more here
Germany’s largest trade union has called for the resignation of Hans-Werner Sinn, president of the Ifo ecomonic research institute, after he compared the criticism of bank managers during the credit crunch to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany.
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The German family ministry is pushing for the ban of children’s book How Do I get To God, Asked The Small Piglet.
The ministry has written to the federal department responsible for reviewing children’s literature, saying “the book ridicules three worldwide religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism (…), this later being shown as particularly fearful and cruel”.