Artemis (brothel)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Entrance to Artemis in Halenseestrasse

The Artemis is a nudist and sauna club in the Berlin district of Halensee . With an area of ​​around 3000 m², the club, which opened in September 2005, is the largest brothel in Berlin; it is also one of the largest brothels in Germany.

history

The building is located on Halenseestrasse at the western end of Kurfürstendamm in an industrial area in Halensee . It is located directly at the Westkreuz S-Bahn station and around 500 meters south of the ICC . The former warehouse was acquired and redesigned by the Turkish businessman Hakim Şimşek, an investor previously active in the casino sector , for around five million euros. His brother Kenan Şimşek acted as managing director. It was opened as a “nudist and sauna club” in September 2005. Councilor Klaus Dieter Gröhler, who is known as an opponent of brothels, says, “Mr. Şimşek is on the safe side in terms of building law”. There is no legal objection to a brothel in an industrial park. Compared to the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet , Kenan Şimşek characterized Artemis as a "family business"; He put the budget for advertising at 500,000 euros, with TV advertising being broadcast in 24 countries.

According to Artemis press spokesman Egbert Krumeich, the average number of visitors in 2006 was around 250 a day. The Artemis received media coverage, some of which went beyond national borders, in the course of the 2006 World Cup . For example, during the World Cup, the club converted one of its sex cinemas for World Cup television broadcasts. According to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , the club ran out of space during the World Cup. According to a police spokesman, the club was not one of the “problem cases” among the brothels in response to fears surrounding the 2006 World Cup.

The Artemis was noticed by the Berlin public, among other things, for its aggressive advertising. In addition to banner advertising at Hertha BSC home games and taxi advertising , the club also placed advertising on city double-decker buses . After complaints about the protection of minors , the BVG decided in 2013 not to extend the advertising contracts with the Artemis.

The Artemis was mentioned in local news reports in 2012 through a dispute in front of the club related to the use of firearms and reports about a planned offshoot near the new Schönefeld Airport .

In December 2013, an action by activists of the feminist group Femen , which was directed against the marketing of women as sex goods and in which the activists chained themselves naked in front of the entrance area of ​​Artemis, attracted national attention.

In 2016 a number of 110,000 guests was given annually.

On April 14, 2016 that Berlin was known prosecutor's office , state police , Main Customs Office and tax investigation since 2015 on suspicion of Beitragsvorenthaltung , alleged tax offenses and human trafficking against the operators and more responsible for monitoring the operations in the brothel women determined. A connection to the Hells Angels was also established by the Berlin police . The investigation into Artemis began when a prostitute testified against her pimp, who was an aspirant with the Hells Angels and who had mistreated her into prostitution at Artemis and elsewhere; he was sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2017. On April 13, 2016, 900 officers from the police, the main customs office and tax investigators as well as seven public prosecutors executed 16 search warrants and six arrest warrants against those responsible for the Artemis brothel company. At the end of July 2016, however, the Court of Appeal passed a ruling that lifted the pre-trial detention of Kenan and Ismail Şimşek, the two main suspects. According to the appraisal of the Chamber Court, there was no longer any urgent suspicion of the allegations of human trafficking, evasion of social security contributions and taxes as per the state of investigation at the time of the decision. The Court of Appeal also considered it doubtful whether employment relationships existed between the operators and prostitutes.

Nevertheless, in April 2018, two years after the raid, the Berlin public prosecutor brought charges against the operators of the Artemis and four employees. The law enforcement agency moved away from the original allegations, only evading social security contributions and taxes were the subject of the indictment. On November 20, 2018, an economic criminal chamber of the Berlin Regional Court decided that these allegations were also implausible and refused to open the main proceedings.

The Berlin public prosecutor filed a complaint against this decision, but withdrew it on January 31, 2019. This officially ended the process after two and a half years. The operators of the Artemis were released from all allegations and announced that they would have compensation for the unlawful prosecution examined. According to another media report, the Berlin regional court suggested compensation in November 2018: “On Tuesday the Berlin regional court decided not to admit any other charges either. Rather, the Simsek brothers are to be compensated for the deprivation of liberty suffered [...]. "

concept

The three-story building houses a swimming pool, three saunas and two cinemas . It offers space for 70 prostitutes and 600 suitors. The Artemis is operated as a nudist and sauna club . Prostitutes as well as clients pay an entrance fee in order to be able to use the premises without restrictions. Around 40 women work at Artemis on an average evening. Their payment is usually made after the service. The women work as freelance active self . The club sets dress codes in the area of outfit ( lingerie , high heels , etc.) for the women who work . In addition, there are organizational arrangements based on attendance times and shift schedules .

The club's clientele is strongly international. The same goes for the women who work as prostitutes there. In addition to the prostitutes, several dozen employees work in the service, cleaning and catering areas at Artemis . The prostitutes can also rent a room to live there. In social and charitable terms, the Artemis strives for a pleasant external perception. The club made regular donations to the Berliner Tafel , other charitable focus organizations and the homeless magazine Strassenfeger . In addition, the Artemis offers once or twice a week reduced admission prices for pensioners by half .

Social perception and criticism

Artemis

Due to its exposed position as an internationally frequented large brothel and its location in the capital , the media response to the Artemis was and is above average. On the one hand, the working conditions of the women working there and the business concept of the nudist club in general were rated differently . In her dissertation on the current prostitution law as the reason for the success of Artemis, Pascha or the Colosseum in Augsburg , the lawyer Rahel Gugel mentioned above all the economic efficiency of such large facilities: “The external character of the large brothels is similar to that of a wellness establishment with sauna, swimming pool , whirlpool and other. They are expensive and often luxuriously furnished with high investments and serve to maximize profits for the benefit of the operator. The aim of the realignment of these brothels is to take away the character of the classic brothel from the facilities and thus to develop new groups of customers. "

Artemis also came into focus with regard to the discussion of the working conditions to which freelance prostitutes are subject after the Prostitution Act 2002 was passed. Katarina Cetin from the prostitute self-help group Hydra, for example, praised the club's high hygiene standards in a statement in 2005 . Cetin also rated the general work atmosphere and the fact that no alcohol was served as positive . However, she combined her statements with the caveat that it was still too early to assess the working conditions specifically. The Federal Association of Sexual Services, however, feared a displacement competition after the opening of the Artemis. The prostitute activist Stephanie Klee saw the existence of over 850 small brothels and erotic salons threatened and in a statement criticized the “greed is cool” attitude, which is becoming more and more prevalent in the industry. In 2007, whore self-help organizations also rated the actions of the city authorities against prostitutes - a context in which Artemis was also listed. Raids in several hundred brothels in Berlin had increased the suspicion among those affected that the city authorities wanted to force free-working prostitutes into manageable large brothels like the Artemis. The background to this was increased tax pressure , advocated by the then Berlin Finance Senator Thilo Sarrazin , among others , as well as controversial interpretations regarding the tax lump sums that prostitutes have to pay in advance according to the Düsseldorf model .

Caused by the social debate about the pros and cons of prostitution as well as special aspects such as human trafficking and forced prostitution , Artemis also came under periodic criticism. For example, the magazine Emma named Artemis in its 2013 appeal against prostitution . Just like the Paradise and the Pascha, according to Emma, the Artemis is one of those large brothel establishments that would further lower the inhibition threshold of suitors . The action of Femen Germany, which protested against the purchase of women and the treatment of women as goods in December 2013 with a chaining action in front of the Artemis , also followed a similar direction . The Femen activists advocated laws to punish suitors, as passed in France in 2013 , and called for similar measures in Germany. In the corresponding article on her website, Femen writes, among other things, that the Artemis is obliged to have oral sex without a condom . Women who were infected would have to leave the brothel.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , Thomas Brussig reported on the Artemis in his book Berliner Orgie , published in 2007 : "Even without a condom" during oral sex . A Berlin prostitute told the daily newspaper in 2007 that the working conditions at Artemis had undermined the standards of Berlin prostitutes: "Naked law, kisses with tongue, French without - that is, oral sex without a condom - everything is a must."

Apart from event-related reporting, the Artemis is mostly characterized as an above-average service and customer-oriented, modern red light establishment. In an article for the international edition of Spiegel Online, the author Damien McGuiness highlighted the international traffic and contrasted the name, derived from Greek mythology , with the more functional interior , reminiscent of Las Vegas . The author Thomas Brussig wrote an enthusiastic review in his Milieureportage Berliner Orgie. Aside from the cleanliness, Brussig particularly praised the pleasantly relaxed atmosphere. Brussig characterized most of the women who work at Artemis and come from different countries as personable. An article published in the daily newspaper in 2011 also conveyed an overall positive image . The manager of Artemis, who used to be active in the sex trade herself, drew a comparison with previous workplaces and characterized the work at Artemis with the words: "Compared to others, what we do here is of course flower sex."

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Frank Junghänel: In the industrial area . In: Berliner Zeitung , November 10, 2005.
  2. ^ Berlin: German-Turk runs one of the largest sauna clubs in Germany . In: German Turkish News , November 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Mark Landler: World Cup Brings Little Pleasure to German Brothels . In: The New York Times , July 3, 2006 (English).
  4. ↑ Julia Schaaf: Prostitution: world champion in sex for sale . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , June 18, 2006.
  5. ^ A b Timo Kather: New BER neighbor: Large brothel at the major airport . In: Der Tagesspiegel , April 26, 2013.
  6. ^ BVG: No more brothel advertising . In: BZ , August 19, 2013.
  7. ↑ Dispute over bill: Men flee after being shot in the Artemis brothel in Berlin . In: Berliner Morgenpost , August 17, 2012.
  8. ↑ a b These women are in chains! In: Emma , November 28, 2013, accessed April 14, 2016.
  9. ^ Raid on Artemis, a noble brothel in Berlin! In: BZ , April 13, 2016, accessed on April 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ a b The Artemis Files - or Sex and its Price . In: stern.de . September 29, 2016 ( stern.de [accessed April 21, 2018]).
  11. ↑ He beat his girlfriend on the line: Seven years imprisonment for ex-football professional. In: BZ October 6, 2017, accessed October 29, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Investigations against those responsible for the “Artemis” brothel - six arrest warrants and 16 search warrants carried out . In: Police report No. 0964 , April 14, 2016, accessed on June 17, 2016.
  13. ↑ Artemis operators free again . In: Spiegel Online , July 29, 2016, accessed August 8, 2016.
  14. ^ Indictment against the operator of the Berlin brothel "Artemis" . In: Spiegel Online , April 7, 2018, accessed April 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ No lawsuit against Artemis brothel . In: Der Tagesspiegel , November 20, 2018, accessed on November 20, 2018.
  16. ↑ Court dismisses charges against Artemis operator . In: RBB , November 21, 2018, accessed on November 21, 2018.
  17. ^ Artemis proceedings: Public prosecutor withdraws complaint . At: berlin.de , January 31, 2019, accessed on January 31, 2019.
  18. ↑ Artemis brothel owners want compensation . In: Berliner Morgenpost , November 22, 2018, accessed on November 22, 2018.
  19. ↑ Report without heading under "News" in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung , November 25, 2018, p. 41, author abbreviation "kkr"
  20. ↑ Leila Djamila: My first day at work in the brothel . In: Vice , October 7, 2013.
  21. ↑ as stated on the club's official website, accessed January 31, 2013.
  22. ↑ Cordula Meyer et al. a .: Unprotected. In: Der Spiegel , May 27, 2013.
  23. ^ A b Thomas Brussig : Berlin Orgy. Piper, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-492-05037-1 , p. 92 ff.
  24. ↑ Tuff Tuff Tuff, we're going to the "brothel" ... ( Memento from January 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Strassenfeger , No. 1, January 2007.
  25. ↑ a b In slippers through the wild Amazonia . In: Die Tageszeitung , September 21, 2011.
  26. ↑ Stefano Vastano: Mondo: Eros alle berlinese . In: L'Espresso , July 24, 2007, accessed April 14, 2016 (Italian).
  27. ↑ Rahel Gugel: The tension between the Prostitution Act and Article 3 II of the Basic Law: a legal political investigation. LIT Verlag, Münster 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-11064-0 , p. 54.
  28. ↑ a b Damien McGuiness: World Cup: Soccer Fans Will Get a Kick out of Berlin's Latest Brothel . In: Spiegel Online International , September 23, 2005 (English).
  29. ^ Hannes Heine: Tax audit on the line . In: Potsdam Latest News , May 19, 2007.
  30. ↑ Chantal Louis: Germany's special way . In: Emma , October 1, 2012.
  31. ^ Nicole Biewald: Nude demo in front of Berlin's largest brothel . In: Bild , November 28, 2013, accessed April 14, 2016.
  32. ↑ On November 27, 2013, FEMEN activists storm the largest brothel in Berlin: Germany is not a brothel! Berlin is prostituting itself! Archived from the original on December 13, 2013 ; Retrieved April 14, 2016 (online January 6, 2014).
  33. ^ Johanna Adorján: Thomas Brussig's brothel test. That costs extra . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , May 21, 2007, No. 116, p. 41.
  34. ↑ Waltraud Schwab: Sex and Law . In: Die Tageszeitung , April 26, 2007.

Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 58.2 ″  N , 13 ° 16 ′ 56.6 ″  E