Der Spiegel Turns 60
January 4, 2007
For decades, the weekly Der Spiegel has been the leader in investigative journalism in Germany. As one of Germany's most influential news sources -- it held almost a monopoly on forming German public opinion in the postwar decades -- the magazine has revealed numerous scandals and shaped politics like no other German media outlet.
In the best of times, it has been called the "independent conscience of politicians" that has never let a scandal slip through its fingers.
One of most dramatic events Spiegel covered was the "Flick Affair," a bribery scandal the magazine investigated which eventually forced Otto Graf Lambsdorff, then minister for economic affairs, to resign in 1984.
Relentless digging
Other scandals Spiegel unearthed include that of politician Uwe Barschel in 1987. Barschel, then the incumbent state premier, allegedly had his opponent spied upon during an election campaign in the hope of finding incriminating evidence to use.
Spiegel revealed this and other unsavory dealings involving an assistant of Barschel's. While Barschel denied any knowledge of the tactics, he ended up withdrawing from the election race.
He was found dead a short time later in a bathtub in Geneva, and while some thought it was a suicide, many others speculated he was murdered.
The "Barschel Affair" was just one in a string of scandalous episodes that continued to send shockwaves through the German political and cultural landscape well into the 1990s.
Der Spiegel was at the center of much of it, both as muckraker and maverick.
Spiegel history
Der Spiegel succeeded the magazine Diese Woche (This Week), which the British press officer John Chaloner had founded in 1946.
Chaloner, however, was forced to abandon the paper as its critical view of the occupying Allied Forces in Germany did not find favor among them.
Rudolf Augstein, a 23-year-old reporter known for his lively and impertinent writing style at a newspaper in Hanover, took over the license for Diese Woche. He turned it into Der Spiegel and became its publisher and editor-in-chief, but maintained Diese Woche's style of critically reporting on political and cultural events.
The "Spiegel Affair"
Spiegel was so good at uncovering scandals that it even got one named after itself: the "Spiegel Affair."
In 1962, the magazine published an article about a NATO maneuver called "Fallex 62" that also threw a negative light on the state of the Bundeswehr, or German army. The article exposed the lack of in preparedness against the communist threat from the east at the time.
The magazine was accused of treason, with then Minister of Defense Franz Josef Strauss having Augstein, the article's author, and other editors-in-chief arrested.
Spiegel's offices were closed down for weeks; Augstein stayed in jail for months. The events triggered riots and protests throughout Germany, with the public accusing the government of supporting censorship.
The affair eventually led to a groundbreaking ruling by the Constitutional Court, which laid down the basic tenets for freedom of the press for decades to come.
Having become the voice of conscience, Der Spiegel's sales skyrocketed, hitting half a million copies in the following years.
Then and now
Since Stefan Aust took over as editor-in-chief in 1994, and tried to ensure the magazine kept up with the changing times. In 1994 it was the first magazine in the world to go online.
But he also came under criticism, especially for breaking one of the publications long-standing cardinal rules: never fraternize with the powerful. Besides the critique about pandering to politicians, there are also accusations about more sensationalism and increasing amounts of fluff.
Still, the magazine manages to both mesmerize and polarize German society. Smart marketing seduces readers into wanting "the whole truth" each Monday when they can find the new issue on newsstands, even if it's been years since Der Spiegel actually uncovered a big scandal.