People in glass houses
When the filming of the new Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie began last week, many of those who had been following the Scientology backstory, Rainy Day included, hoped that the acrimonious debate about the actor's beliefs had ended. Cruise had been condemned by some and defended by others and it was time to move on.
But no. Weekend readers of the Rheinische Post were informed that Cruise is the "Goebbels of Scientology" and those leafing through their Bild am Sonntag got this bleak warning about Valkyrie: "This film will have the same propaganda effect for Scientology as the 1936 Olympics had for the Nazis." Phew!
The incendiary statements were uttered by one Thomas Gandow, who was described as the "Scientology expert of the Protestant Church in Berlin". His proper title is actually more impressive and comprehensive "Beauftragte für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen". The thing is, though, that Gandow & Co. should be careful when comparing contemporary sects with bygone days because of the old adage about people in glass houses, etc. You see, it just so happened that last week the Munich City Council decided to rename Meiserstrasse, which is located in one of the city's finer districts. Why? Well, Hans Meiser was the regional Protestant Bishop of Bavaria from 1933 through 1955, but in the early 1920s he was publishing articles in church papers ridiculing Judaism, lamenting the "Verjudung" of the country and demanding that "German blood must remain pure". Not the kind of thing one would expect from a man of God, eh?
We harbour no sympathy here for Scientology but the threat represented by its reputed 55,000 members needs to be kept in perspective. Tomorrow, we end our postings about this very strange story with a final look at how Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg is being put into the service of everything from Hollywood to the European Union.
