GERMANY
"Restoring order" in Germany (1995)
In 1995, fourty policemen along with District Attorney Hönninger
searched the publishers' building of Edition Kunst der Comics/Alpha Comics
in a little town called Sonneberg in Germany. They confiscated more than
150 different comic titles. The accusation was pornography, violence, and
propaganda for the Third Reich. It is not allowed in Germany to show or
to wear any kind of nazi symbols in a way of gloryfication.
 Among the confiscated materials was the
French comic artist Paul Gillon's comic album titled "Schrei
nach Leben" (Cry for life) nominated for the "Gustav-Heinemann-peace-prize"
(G.H. was the Federal President of Germany during the 1960s). The album
was used to educate and to provide informational material for German schools
about the nazi times.
 Another item that proved to be unacceptable for the
police was the official poster of the biggest comics convention in Germany.
The Erlangen based event's poster showed the cover of Art Spiegelman's
"Maus." The accusation was "the glorification of nazi propaganda."
In the next few weeks the German Police searched about 1,200 bookstores
- constituting about 25% of all German bookstores - looking for violations
of the law as manifasted in the vast production of the Sonneberg publishing
house. The most confiscated item was "The killer condom" from
the German artist Ralf König, an adult-funny about the gay scene.
Three years later the prosecuting attorney's office charged the publishers
Ilse Achatz, Achim Schnurrer, and Hörb Schröppel
with violation of the law involving ten of the original 150 comics. During
those three years most bookstores that were not searched by the police voluntarily
returned Edition Kunst der Comics/Alpha Comics's albums and comic books
to the publishers as they believed that they were put on index; a belief
that was not based on facts. Among the returned were even those that had
not been confiscated, such as the comic version of Tolkien's "The Hobbit"
and others. As a result the small publishing house lost about one million
dollars.
 Ironically, during the court proceedings, some hundred
meters away from the Sonneberg courthouse the local theatre showed a very
successful puppet show interpretation of one of the confiscated comics:"The
killer condom."
It took another three years before a verdict was delivered. The publishers
were pronounced not guilty, but had to pay DM 15,000 (about $8,000) for
court costs, $7,000 of which went towards an "expert witness"
report by Prof. Dr. Glogauer, who talked about the dangers for children
reading stories about such "violent" comic heroes as Donald Duck
and Tom and Jerry.
 After nearly six years of emotional roller-coaster,
amid ill-conceived accusations and an severe loss of money, the publishers
themselves became the casualty of the process. They quit the business. Not
exactly a highlight in the cultural history of the free and liberal country
of Germany.
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