Not only Turkey: Germany still needs to learn to take a joke

The object of the joke may have been the Turkish president, but Germany's unwillingness to stand up for its comedians' right to satirize has since turned the tables. Now the limits of German freedom of speech are revealed, admit critics, as a prominent comedian faces a possible trial over a “slanderous poem.”

Jan Böhmermann, who previously caused an uproar after doctoring a video of former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis “giving the finger” to Germany, has sparked another diplomatic scandal this week after reciting on television a satirical poem accusing President Recep Tayep Erodgan of having sex with goats and abusing Christians and Kurds ”while watching child porn.”

Envelope-pushing satire isn't widely appreciated by the German public, warns Torsten Gaitzsch, editor of the satirical monthly Titanic, which faced dozens of legal battles over the last 40 years. “Anything that goes beyond chuckle-worthy criticism is regarded here as inappropriate.”

Germany is actually home to a long-standing satirical tradition, poking fun at politicians since before the 20th century. Weekly magazines in the early 1900's were quickly joined by “Political Kabarett” shows, using music and acting scenes to take jabs at the most sensitive of political and social issues.

Participants, who were persecuted by the Nazis and later weighed down by East German censorship, are now remembered as cultural heroes. But their comedy was never intended for the masses, say experts.

- A fundamental respect for hierarchy -

“This scene was very exclusive and limited, belonging mostly to left-wing intellectuals,” explains researcher Prof. Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw. “Fans were thus displaying their cultural distinction and were hesitant to show this to everyone, believing that 'common people' would not understand.”

Mainstream society remained ruled by a sacrosanct respect for others' privacy and reputation, reflected also in the legal codex. “German laws put much more emphasis on protection against libel than other countries,” she continued, “so freedom of the press and of expression have always been more restricted.”

The exposure in recent years to more American and British comedy, particularly in original language, has led to changes in the notion of what is funny in Germany, but the shift is only starting to trickle up from the young generation to the political class.

“We still have a fundamental respect for hierarchy and elites,” stated Kleinen-von Königslöw. “It is breaking down slowly but is still stronger than in other cultures, and the negative side of this is that criticism in any form is seen as unacceptable.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if this was Jan Böhmermann's intention all along,” she added, echoing the opinion of experts, who dubbed the poem “a legal exercise” exploring how far can one go. “Perhaps he wanted to shed light on what is actually possible in Germany, which prides itself of its current freedom of speech.”

- The pope sued over a urine stain -

The idea that criticizing foreign leaders could lead, according to the rarely-used paragraph 103 of the German Criminal Code, to a three-year prison sentence (or five, if intended defamation is proven), came as a surprise to most Germans, who were unaware of the clause.

Despite the general conservatism of the public, foreign dignitaries are regularly featured in comedy programs and satire magazines, but never did it trigger such a reaction.

Erdogan himself appeared on the cover of Titanic in 2013, “marrying” an alleged neo-Nazi ringleader now standing trial, inter alia, for the murder of eight ethnic Turks.

Another Titanic cover the year before, of Pope Benedict XVI with what appeared to be a urine stain on his robe, caused the Holy Father to file a lawsuit, from which he backed down after the court stopped the magazine from further distributing the issue.

Also the portrayal of President Vladimir Putin in a 2012 episode of the German Today Show, as Master of the Universe involved in corruption and with dubious friends, may have piqued the Russian public's interest, but had no diplomatic backlash.

In fact, the only other time a joke on German television became an international incident, including death threats, was in 1987, when Rudis Tagesshow depicted Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini rummaging through undergarments thrown at him at a rally. And even then article 103 wasn't evoked.

- Nazi-jokes aren't the biggest taboo -

Most analysts attribute the over-sensitive reaction in this case to the German-Turkish power struggle over the deal meant to curb the influx of migrants to the EU.

Kleinen-von Königslöw offers another explanation: “No other politician in the past actually felt offended and responded so publicly and severely, and this is motivating more and more people to make fun of the reaction. Other scandals simply died down, but here the situation keeps escalating.”

Although it is improbable that this buildup will end with Böhmermann in jail, another result can be expected. “We will probably see a serious discussion about that paragraph, and a possible revision,” she speculated.

But on one taboo Germans are unlikely to compromise: “Anything sports-related is highly delicate,” noted Gaitzsch, revealing what above all they consider verboten. “When in 2014 we lightheartedly compared comatose Michael Schumacher with racing legend Niki Lauda, we received death threats. Nazi stuff is okay though.”