A Little Forgery at the University of Tübingen / Prof Knape Is Not Ashamed
A worthless award for Martin Walser / Professor Knape is not ashamed
They are not ashamed, no, they are not ashamed of anything, they are obviously so indolent that they are no longer capable of any shame; a symptom that sometimes occurs in dementia. As if nothing had happened, the Seminar for General Rhetoric of the University of Tübingen presents on his current website the villanous PR-fraud of his former boss Prof. Dr. med. Gert Ueding as correct award, 1998 for the „speech of the year“ to Martin Walser.
Walser has since distanced himself from his speech. Should not this worthless honor (worthless, because apparently by brazen, bluffing the public) now be denied again? But no. Walser’s reason for his conversion to the better is not without embarrassment. It is already a charming corrupt gang, which has come together here and continues to work on the corruption of the publishing industry.
And the now reigning chief rhetorician Prof. Dr. Joachim Knape hopes that enough grass has grown over it. We want to do our utmost to make sure that this hope is disappointed. Let’s start with the new publication of an old text, first published on the Jewish website Hagalil.
Free rider of the Bubis-Walser controversy
The Tübingen Jens successor Gert Ueding as a freel rider ancer of the Bubis-Walser controversy. Rhetoric Award now also for Joschka Fischer.
(Martin Walser: In Germany famous romancier. Ignatz Bubis: President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Joschka Fischer: Foreign minister of Germany.)
For too long apparently the most mediocre Ernst Bloch student Gert Ueding had to endure that his predecessor on the executive chair of the Tübingen University Institute for General Rhetoric, Walter Jens, even years after his retirement found and finds greater public attention and respect. At the big „Walser-Gargel-Margel“ (Willi Winkler), Ueding fraudulently got Publicity for himself and his little solidly researching Institutl, and fed the agencies and features a year ago with the sensational press release, just said the „only institute of its kind in Germany “ awarded Walser’s South German-petty bourgeois, resentment-loaded peace price Schwadronage the title“ speech of the year.
Even today, the Munzinger Archive, considered to be reliable, leads the Walser-Martin as a prizewinner, citing the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which is also regarded as reliable, and fell on Ueding, like the Frankfurter Allgemeine and others, including the Die Welt. There, the Tübingen rhetoric-praetor occasionally brings in articles, full of stylistic howlers, that which was once a Bloch idea, to the glory of Heinz G. Konsalik and his Schmarren „The Doctor of Stalingrad“, transforming it into a phrase — under the headline: „Love , Blood and white coats „. (Exactly this is the sphere in which Ueding should be modest, because he knows his way around, feels well and does not even formulate awkwardly). Incidentally, haGalil also announced the award ceremony on December 15, 1998, with mild surprise, but the believing the press release of the Ueding – honorable Professor.
Without inquiries, Hans-Joachim Lang, writer of the left-liberal Tübingen „Schwäbisches Tagblatt“, did not want to print the report on the scientifically authorized consecration of Walser at that time, and he picked up the phone to find out more; it is possible that he only credited the head of Ueding, but not the entire staff of the Institute, with such a stupidly brazen, catchy-linguistic diction: Walser’s speech had been chosen because it was „ideologically solidified“ in the tradition of great humanistic eloquence in Germany, openend the eyes of our media society, resist the organized distorted image of conscience, morality, guilty conscience … „and even more bravado it’s cunning that it only has its kind, from which Walser’s eloquence — albeit“ tellement petit- bourgeois (petty-bourgeois) „, as sharpsightetd Federaal President Richard von Weizsäcker diagnosed — shines brightly.
Mixture of nonsense and pomposity
Editor Lang therefore researched, painstakingly. Apart from the institute’s second professor, Joachim Knape, none of his interviewees had the courage to expose the award ceremony for what it was: a shameless media hype, usually free riding, later damned by Emeritus Jens as a mixture of „nonsense and pomposity “ ‑thus minimizing and downplaying - because Ueding’s shameless bluff brought Walser’s“ “Rodomontaden“(Süddeutsche Zeitung) with unsuspecting readers reputation. Ueding lied, the jury had „all the full-time staff of the institute listened to“, and the choice was unanimous.
Lang did not let up. He reached two scientific co-workers who pretended one day after the award ceremony to be unable to remember which rhetorical masterpieces were examined in a rhetorical and scientific manner in competition with the Walser speech. (Non-remembering, still seems to be a particularly rampant syndrome in Germany). After all, Professor Knape spoke „plain text“. He did not even know the award-worthy rhetorical masterpiece in the wording, knew nothing of a jury, but could confirm that actually talked about Walser’s speech: „At the Christmas party of the Institute, casually with a glass of wine.“
Although unmasked, Ueding did not give up, assuring Josef-Otto Freudenreich, author of the Stuttgarter Zeitung, that there was indeed a jury and, indeed, competing texts to choose from. Unfortunately, Freudenreich inquired, and the first thing that came to mind to the now-stressed rhetorician was Schröder’s government statement, after further reflection a speech by Jutta Limbach, President of the Federal Constitutional Court (‚Abused Politics the BVG?‘) And one of the old historian Christian Meier (‚Why are the Words no longer? ‘).
Again, Ueding was unlucky. Freudenreich researched, and found a nice final point for his gloss: „Indeed, all important speeches, especially those of the Chancellor, but the other two have obviously not been thoroughly read in a hurry. Both are not suitable for the „Speech of the Year 1998“ — because Limbach and Meier spoke in 1997 „.
Just in 1997, at the end of January, Ueding read in his house paper „Die Welt“ that the „Circle of Political Rhetoric Promoters“ has been awarding a „Golden Microphone“ for years, currently to Oskar Lafontaine. „I can do that too,“ he told himself, costing me nothing more than a press release. In December 1998 it was time, he awarded the uniquely endowed prize in the literal sense, unilaterally, single-handedly, and it would be unreasonable to expect Walser, he may — because pure fiction — give it back. There probably is not even a certificate. In August 1999, Ueding relented, again unanimously awarded an award, this time an audiobook award, on behalf of the University of Tübingen and the Institute. Again, TAGBLATT editor Lang researched, again only Knape let out a stunned one: ‚One prize chasing the next …‘
The „Speech of the Year 1999“ is, really and truly, chosen, even before the Christmas party of the institute, by a bodily jury, as, in turn, Lang got out. Joschka Fischer received the worthless award for his party speech on the war in Kosovo. As early as May of this year, Ueding, by nature in the „Welt“, welcomed the neo-German transition from peacetime to war rhetoric, misusing the words of Ernst Bloch: „To be gentle only does not mean to be good“.
A year ago, Ueding defended himself and his unanimous appointment of Walser’s speech with the boldly absurd conjecture that „Ernst Bloch would have spoken just like me“. Bloch’s son Jan Robert objected to the attempt to „use Bloch’s fame to speak the word in a final line mentality …“, Ueding’s dictum called, far too noble „reputation-damaging and excessive“.
So if Fischer keeps the price, Walser will not return him — he has received almost nothing — although: „Better than nothing,“ said Karl Valentin, asked why he wears goggles without glass. At least the Munzinger Archive, however, is supposed to clean up its Walser entry, even in the sense of Ueding, who perhaps had hitherto only been too baffled to demand such a thing. In the summer semester 1997, he held a seminar, with the beautiful title: „Truth and lies in rhetorical intention / ethics in the mass media“.
Thomas Ziegner / haGalil 12–99