Thomas Gandow.
He is responsible for the subject of cults within the protestant
church in Berlin-Brandenburg, he's a Scientology expert and
he's heading the Centre for Dialogue in Berlin. In a litigation
before the district court of Branden- burg the [german section
of the] Church of Scientology admitted to having observed the
Cult Commissioner.
[Moderator]
And now:
Entrapping humans using shady methods. Tom Cruise won’t discuss
it in the public, yet he’s their most prominent ambassador.
We are talking about Scientology. A denomination being associated
with power and greed. It is out in the streets, looking for
new members with shady methods. Not many people recognize that
this is Scientology recruiting.
[Narrator]
Berlin,
Potsdamer Platz. Here, in the capitals center a booth with with
books and DVDs is set up, surrounded by people wearing red jackets
with the “Dianetics” logo on it. We know that this is a disguise
of Scientology and are sending a decoy with a hidden camera
to them. He is being approached immediately.
[Scientologist]
We got
a free stress test today, so we could discover where you’ve
got the most stress.
[Narrator]
Our decoy
agrees. He has to take some detectors which are connected to
a device similar to a voltmeter.
[Scientologist]
What’s
the worst experience you ever had in your life?
[Decoy]
I was
drifting alone on the ozean.
[Narrator]
Of course,
the stress test is immediately going off. The man recommends
a book written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to our
decoy.
[Scientologist]
It contains
a therapy you could apply. You’ll find in it the location of
your pain and how to get rid of it.
[Narrator]
As the
Scientologist wants a donation for the book, our decoy is denying.
Journalist Philip Mattheis took a personality test offered by
the organization in Munich.
[Philip
Mattheis, Journalist]
It said
that I had serious personality flaws. There were several fields
with a score ranging from -100 to 100. My scores were nearly
all around -90. So, the Scientologist told me that I had to
urgently work on my personality. She offered me a communication
training course at the price of 40 Euros.
[Narrator]
Those
bad results on the personality tests are methodic, the sect
commisioner of the evanglic church of Berlin says. He is advising
not to take Scientology courses.
[Thomas
Gandow, Minister]
Scientology
is brainwashing people by manipulating their thoughts and language.
They have to learn a whole new language, and they are being
misinformed by Scientology about psychology and psychiatry.
Scientology is not only presenting itself as an alternative,
Scientology wants to exterminate psychiatry.
[Narrator]
From the
ministers point of view, the so-called “stress tests” in major
german cities are serving a specific purpose. He says that Scientology
uses them to entrap potential new members. He also believes,
that the american organization tries to take over Germany. This
is why they built their headquarters in the capital.
[Thomas
Gandow, Minister]
Scientology
tries to prevent any legislation interfering with them. This
is why they try to gain political influence. They partially
succeeded, using prominent speakers. Celebrities such as Tom
Cruise, managing to get close to politicians.
[Narrator]
The group
Anonymous is mobilizing against Scientology. The critics wear
masks to avoid harassment. They are informing passers-by in
front of the stress test booths.
[Anonymous]
Attention,
those gentlemen in red are Scientology!
[Narrator]
The group
was founded one year ago, when a speech of Tom Cruise in front
of the Scientology community was circulating the internet.
[Tom Cruise]
You know
that I’m there for you. And that I do care for you very, very
much. So what do you say, are whe gonna clean this place up?
Okay.
[Narrator]
This mindset
is considered inhuman by Anonymous. The group is especially
bothered with the disguise tactics of the Scientologists, who
don’t like being watched.
[Anonymous]
We would
appreciate a ban on some of their tactics, for example them
standing outside every day in every major city, not identifying
themselves as Scientology and deceiving the public by saying
“we are volunteers in conflict areas, we do private tutoring,
we are testing your stress”, but there is no identification
saying “Scientology”, and thats the big problem, this is why
many people are deceived.
[Narrator]
- Our decoy
is not. Scientology is persistent and repeatedly approaching
him, but our decoy only wants to leave the spot.
Interview
before the show
(Before
the show Ilse Hruby had the opportunity to speak with Thomas
Gandow)
Good evening,
Mr. Gandow !
Thomas
Gandow: Good evening.
I: You
were observed by Scientology. How did this come about ?
TG: For
eight months I provided a hiding place for an Ex-Scientologist
and his Spouse who were preparing for a litigation, they had
to take part in in the US and they are being persecuted by Scientology,
because Scientology wants to prevent them from relaying their
experiences with this organization.
I: Would
you say, that there really is something like a direct damage
by Scientology ?
TG: A
lot of people were strongly damaged in a material sense. Some
people are damaged on a psychological level, they go crazy and
there are a lot of cases, in which people died at Scientology.
I'm thinking of the German Konrad Aigner, the American Lisa
McPherson or of Frenchman Patrice Vic, these are people who
died at Scientology, while in their care and while receiving
their treatment.
I: Then
why has Berlin – one has to say: especially Berlin – stopped
to observe Scientology by the Verfassungsschutz, which in a
way almost suggests to Scientology to go to the capital now.
TG: Well,
in all honesty, my imagination doesn't completely suffice to
give an explanation for this. Hardly a year after the Berlin
Senate lost in court and was told they couldn't use anymore
undercover agents against Scientology, the mayor invited Scientology
spokesperson Tom Cruise to the city hall and let him put his
name in the golden book of the city. I can only consider it
a success of Scientology's public relations, if the Berlin Senate
on top of this also declared cults were no subject for Verfassungsschutz.
Of course they are and federal Verfassungsschutz [made a good
choice] by observing Scientology and Scientology is one of six
areas of activity for federal Verfassungsschutz. The people
in Berlin are... blind. Love makes you go blind.
I: This
somehow is in tune with recent news in newspapers from two or
three days ago in England, especially London, which were that
the Labor Party had in a roundabout way – Tom Cruise had a part
in this as well – received money. Do you think that this is
the form of lobbying Scientology will be doing now?
TG: That's
exactly what we expect to happen. Scientology wants to become
respectable. They want their name to be heard in connection
with prominent politicians, with movie stars. And for this goal
they manage for the highest institution within the Labor Party
to invite them to have a booth at the party convention and the
Labor Party also received money for this. And in Brussels the
lobbying central achieved that there was no real outcry when
of all people the director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for
Research on Totalitarianism spoke at the totalitarian Scientology
Organization.
I: One
might presume: Berlin has traditionally been the bridge to the
east, also to the former eastern bloc. The former GDR [German
Democratic Republic, the former communist state in eastern Germany]
has supposedly a tendency to atheism, non-religiousness. Is
it possible, that Scientology is now saying: Look, here we have
got a huge area for redevelopment?
TG: Yes.
Scientology is a scientific philosophy, that's at least what
they claim to be and Scientology's knowledge is being transferred
by training courses. So they can easily pick up from there.
They didn't manage to do it as planned in our eastern parts,
because of our resistance, but in Bulgaria it's a totally different
story: Texts by Hubbard were being distributed by the Academy
of Sciences there. In Russia this happened: Someone who had
received Scientology training, Mr. Kirijenko, became Prime Minister
for 100 days. So, I'm not surprised anymore about the growing
global influence of Scientology, after I heard of what's possible
in Russia.
I: It
starts very small, if one may say so, namely at schools, which
Scientology seems to have picked as a new object of desire.
TG: There's
a special advertising group in Berlin, consisting of 150 Scientologists,
who obliged themselves to work in Berlin for three months. Now,
of all places in front of [Scientology's] new headquarter there's
a bus stop, where pupils of several schools have to change buses.
And Scientology's advertisers approach these pupils, no matter
their age. So there's also a danger for individuals, especially
for youths.
I: Thanks
a lot for this conversation, Thomas Gandow.
