Enlightenment in the 21st century
Giordano Bruno Stiftung mourns the loss of its adviser Prof. Dr. Bernulf Kanitscheider
He was one of the leading thinkers of naturalism and enlightened hedonism. Only now it became known that the philosopher Bernulf Kanitscheider died on June 21 at the age of 77. A euology by Michael Schmidt-Salomon.
Action art for the Protestant Church Congress exposes the reformer's dark sides
One day before the beginning of the Protestant Church Day 2017, the Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) unveiled its action art "Die nackte Wahrheit über Martin Luther" ("The Naked Truth About Martin Luther") on Tuesday afternoon in Berlin. The sculpture, over four metres high, shows a naked Luther figure with an open coat. The inside of the coat depicts a quotation by philosopher Karl Jaspers: "Luther's advice against the Jews was precisely executed by Hitler". On the back you can read the reformer's anti-Semitic advice, including burning down synagogues, expropriation, and forced labour for Jews. The mobile sculpture "Der nackte Luther" will be on display at the Kirchentag in Berlin, Leipzig, and Wittenberg in the next few days, pointing to the dark sides of the reformer, which are all too often covered by a cloak of silence.
Giordano Bruno Stiftung publishes critical brochure for the Luther Year
The public sector spends around 250 million euro from general taxpayers' money on the "Luther Decade". The 500th anniversary of his alleged "posting of the theses" is even to be celebrated as a national holiday. But was Martin Luther a man to be celebrated? No, says the Giordano Bruno Stiftung, which in its now published critical Luther brochure shows that the reformer was one of the "most powerful representatives of the hatred of Jews from Golgotha to Auschwitz".
Nationwide demonstrations on 22 April 2017
Those who deny scientific facts undermine the foundations of rational debate. This is why the political trend towards "alternative facts" and "postfactual arguments", which can now be observed from Moscow to Washington, affects not only scientists, but society as a whole. For this reason, many thousands of people worldwide will gather on the streets on 22 April to demonstrate for increased attention to scientific findings. The Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) supports the German "Marsch für die Wissenschaft" (which will take place in 19 cities at the same time) not only in terms of ideas, but also financially.
Discussion on the Kim regime in The Hague
During the 15th Assembly of the Member States of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague last Monday, a well-attended discussion took place on whether it is reasonable and possible to initiate an indictment against the North Korean ruling elite before the ICC. Organizers of the so-called "side events" of the ICC meeting were the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK, South Korea), the Geoffrey Nice Foundation on Law, History, Politics and Society (Netherlands) and the Giordano Bruno Stiftung (Germany).
The "Frankfurt Future Symposium" explored the opportunities and risks of new technologies
"Our ethical-political systems are far behind technological development," explained philosopher Michael Schmidt-Salomon in his introduction to the "Frankfurter Zukunfts-Symposium", which was held last weekend by the Ethikverband der Deutschen Wirtschaft and the Giordano Bruno Stiftung. For this reason, the two organisations decided to create a network that aims to develop "rational standards for assessing the opportunities and risks of new technologies".
Eulogy to Gerhard Wimberger
Gerhard Wimberger is dead. The Austrian composer ("Passion Giordano Bruno"), who conducted the Salzburg Festival with Herbert von Karajan for two decades, died last Thursday at the age of 93. A eulogy by Michael Schmidt-Salomon.
Raif Badawi and Ensaf Haidar have been awarded the Deschner Prize of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung in Frankfurt
The blogger Raif Badawi, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in Saudi Arabia and 1,000 blows with a stick, and his wife, human rights activist Ensaf Haidar, were awarded the Deschner Prize of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) last Saturday in a moving ceremony at the German National Library in Frankfurt. Badawi and Haidar received the prize worth 10,000 euro for their "mutual, courageous and self-sacrificing commitment to secularism, liberalism and human rights".
Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung kritisiert die Zulassung der Strafverfolgung als "Kniefall vor einem Despoten"
Michael Schmidt-Salomon, spokesman of the Giordano Bruno Foundation, criticized the German government's decision to allow criminal prosecution against Jan Böhmermann on the basis of §103 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) as "kneeling before a despot" who "in his own country utilizes the traditional criminal offence of lèse-majesty to eliminate political opponents".
Jacques Tilly's appeal to defend the "liberal dream"
Illustrator and carnival carriage builder Jacques Tilly (trustee of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung) was awarded the Jan Wellem Ring by the City of Düsseldorf last Thursday for his cultural services. In his acceptance speech, Tilly, who made headlines last year with his "Charlie Hebdo Float", called for defending the open society with even more courage, humanity, and humour. Below, we document excerpts from this speech, which, as gbs spokesman Michael Schmidt-Salomon explained, "sums up the stance of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung on the debate about Islamism and xenophobia and clarifies the fundamental differences between rational enlightenment and reactionary propaganda".