Humanist Union

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Humanist Union
(HU)
legal form registered association
founding August 26, 1961
Seat Munich ( ⊙ coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 44.1 ″  N , 13 ° 25 ′ 30.2 ″  E )
Office Berlin
purpose Protection and enforcement of civil rights
Managing directors Carola Otte
sales 212,423 euros (2013)
Members 1400 (2013)
Website www.humanistische-union.de

The Humanist Union (HU) is a German civil rights association . Its goals are, among other things, the realization of a comprehensive freedom of information and more direct democracy as well as the abolition of the secret service's protection of the constitution . The strict separation between religion and state is part of their program. The Humanist Union was founded in Munich in 1961, has around 1500 members and the legal form of a registered association .

history

Gerhard Szczesny, founder of the Humanist Union

The Humanist Union was founded on August 26, 1961 on the initiative of Gerhard Szczesny , who wrote a corresponding appeal on June 6, 1961. The founding members saw the HU less as a civil rights organization, but as a loose cultural-political association of left-liberal public figures and wanted to create a “ humanistically based counter- public ” to the prevailing Christian-conservative mood of the Adenauer era .

One of the declared founding goals was the “liberation of man from the fetters of authoritarian and clerical ties”. The principle of "spiritual tutelage" by state and church should give way to the principle of personal responsibility and self-realization of the individual. Science, press, literature, art and culture should be able to develop freely without state or church influence on the basis of the free democratic legal order of the Basic Law .

The founding members of the Humanist Union saw the rights of freedom as set out in the Basic Law threatened in particular by ecclesiastical influences. They therefore demanded the strict separation of church and state. Because of this demand, the HU was and is partially viewed as an anti-Christian organization. She describes herself as anti-clerical and anti- confessional.

In the following years, local chapters emerged at the local level. On July 4, 1962, the Humanist Student Union (HSU) was founded. In most of the federal states, state associations are still working on civil law-relevant political issues such as: B. the penal system or police law . The social expansion of the Humanist Union and the associated acceptance of new members soon led to an expansion of the field of activity. The focus was initially on the liberalization of criminal law . Here the HU turned against the criminal liability of purely “immoral” behavior, for example the dissemination of lewd writings, homosexuality ( Section 175 of the Criminal Code (StGB) ) or blasphemy . In addition, the Humanist Union pleaded for a political confrontation with communism and socialism , which should take the place of the legal persecution of its supporters.

The Humanist Union initially pursued its goals through lectures, panel discussions, poster campaigns, public statements and publications. Over time, however, this direct impact on public opinion increasingly gave way to lobbying , which was reflected, for example, in statements and reports on legislative proposals .

In the mid-1960s calls for more internal democracy were loud within the Humanist Union. The association, which was previously more informal internally, should also be structured and organized more transparently. These efforts could not be reconciled with the original idea of ​​the HU founder Szczesny. In November 1967, at a general meeting in Kassel , there was a conflict between Szczesny and his critics, which the latter won. The general assembly passed a new statute in which clear structures and procedures were laid down. Its basic content is still valid today. Szczesny initially remained federal chairman, but was replaced by Walter Fabian in 1969 .

In the period that followed, the Humanist Union changed more and more from a left-liberal anti-clerical movement to a civil rights association. At the beginning of the 1970s, the HU campaigned for the abolition of Section 218 of the Criminal Code, as it saw the abortion ban standardized there as an inadmissible interference with the pregnant woman's right to self-determination . In the late 1970s, the Humanist Union endeavored to objectify how it dealt with and took action against the terrorists of the RAF .

At the beginning of the 1980s, the HU turned against the planned census and was confirmed in its legal opinion by the census ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court . Since this time at the latest, questions of data protection and the secrecy of postal and telecommunications have been among the core issues of the Humanist Union. She tried to popularize the anti-discrimination law and the right to inspect files ( freedom of information ) many years before the relevant laws came into force.

In the years of German unification after 1989, the HU campaigned intensively for a new all-German constitution that was intended to ensure greater participation of citizens.

To increase the international communication skills of the Humanist Union, the HU delegates decided at the end of September 2007 to add the addition “German Civil Liberties Union” to the name. The change was a reaction to the increasing shift of decision-making processes from the national to the European level. Like many other so far primarily nationally oriented NGOs , the HU was forced to network again across Europe.

In June 2009 the Humanist Union merged with the Gustav Heinemann Initiative . A subsequent renaming to Society for Citizens' Rights failed in a ballot in December 2010 due to the three-quarters majority required for this. The organization therefore keeps the addition "united with the Gustav Heinemann Initiative" in its name, which has since been adopted.

aims

Today the main focus of activity is the defense of civil rights . In particular, the HU advocates more democratic participation rights, the limitation of the powers of the police and secret services , equality between women and men, the decriminalization of drug possession as well as data protection and freedom of information . It calls for a guarantee of the sick and dying's right to self-determination, humane conditions for prisoners and refugees as well as the separation of church and state and takes a critical stance on state services (performance obligations of the states to religious societies ) and state religious education .

The association is a member of the NGO network Forum Menschenrechte , co-signer of the joint declaration of the working group on data retention against the draft law on data retention and support organization of the demonstrations freedom instead of fear .

structure

Federal Executive

The federal board deals with nationwide issues. Werner Koep-Kerstin, who previously worked in the Federal Press Office , has been Chairman of the Federal Executive Committee since June 2013 . The board of directors also includes Koep-Kerstin's predecessor, the GDR lawyer, former Brandenburg constitutional judge and emeritus law professor Rosemarie Will .

Prominent board members of the Humanist Union were the former Hessian attorney general Fritz Bauer , the doctor and psychoanalyst Alexander Mitscherlich , the former member of the Lower Saxony state parliament Werner Holtfort , the Hanover political scientist and civil rights activist Jürgen Seifert , the musicologist Volkmar Braunbehrens and the retired criminology professor from Hamburg (also a member of the Fritz Sack Board of Trustees of the Working Group on Humane Sexuality (AHS), from which the HU publicly distinguished itself in 2004). The lawyer and former Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily was also a member of the HU board; later he came before an exclusion request because of his security laws (Otto catalog) by resignation.

Advisory Board

Among the members of the Advisory Board of HU include the former Federal Minister Renate Künast , former Bundestag Vice President Burkhard Hirsch (†), the Bundestag vice-president Claudia Roth , the data protection expert Hans Jürgen Garstka , the former Hamburg senator and Lower Saxony Minister Helga Schuchardt , the emeritus professor Hartmut von Hentig and Karl Georg Zinn and the graphic artist and President of the Academy of Arts in Berlin Klaus Staeck .

The former members of the advisory board include the former Federal Minister Werner Maihofer , Herta Däubler-Gmelin , Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul , the writer Walter Jens , the former Higher Regional Court President Rudolf Wassermann , the peace activist Petra Kelly , the former Bundestag member Harri Bading , Oswald Adolph Kohut , Peter Blachstein and Ingrid Matthäus-Maier , the psychologist and social scientist Helmut Kentler , the former Hessian minister Heide Pfarr and the former GDR civil rights activist Bärbel Bohley .

Members

The members and supporters of the Humanist Union in the 1960s and 1970s included celebrities from politics and society. The former member of the Bundestag Volker Beck is a member.

Local associations

The regional presence is very different. The local club in Frankfurt, chaired by Peter Menne, organizes events with a nationwide response, such as B. the panel discussion after the NSU debacle: Do we need the protection of the constitution . In 2005 and 2006, Peter Menne organized and moderated the series Leitkultur Menschenrechte . The core concern of the Humanist Union, the separation of state and church, is discussed further, for example with the reading “Pope undesirable” together with Helge Nyncke on the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI's appearance . before the German Bundestag in September 2011.

The Marburg local association is particularly concerned with basic social rights. The long-time chairman Franz-Josef Hanke created the undoped “Marburger Leuchtfeuer” award together with the city of Marburg.

Other activities in recent years (such as participation in the Fundamental Rights Report) have been developed by project and working groups that work nationwide.

Educational institutions and other institutions

There are educational institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia ( Essen ) and in Bavaria. There is also a women's and family counseling service in Schleswig-Holstein.

Controversy over pedophilia

The Humanist Union is criticized because of a declaration by the Federal Executive of the Humanist Union on Sexual Criminal Law of June 24, 2000. In it, the Federal Executive objected to what it believes had been a policing of society in the area of ​​sexual offenses, which it believes since the mid-1990s, as well as a media and public policy "Generating moral panic". The social and state dealings with the group of pedophiles were characterized as "a lesson from the old and apparently enlightenment-resistant chapter of creating social scapegoats and the moral shifting and alienation of social problems". In view of the “absolutely and relatively extremely rare cases of sexual violence”, a position was also taken against a “crusade-like campaign against pedophiles ”.

This declaration by the federal board was rejected at the HU Association Day in December 2000. This was justified in particular with the lack of the victims' perspective. The federal executive board was requested not to spread the statement as the position of the HU and to make it clear in an appropriate manner that the Humanist Union neither approves nor supports sexual contacts between adults and children in any way. It was emphasized that sexual acts between adults and children cannot be voluntary because of the power imbalance that exists. To the impression that the declaration was judgmental about pedophilia itself, the federal chairman replied that no HU statement had ever made a positive statement on this form of deviant behavior. In 2004, the Humanist Union was forced to distance itself from the Working Group on Humane Sexuality .

In March 2010, the Humanist Union rejected the criticism of the Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller , in which it was alleged to promote or favor pedophile acts, and pledged to protect minors from sexual assault and to prosecute the perpetrators. She dealt with the arguments of the advocates of pedophile relationships, but rejected them and took a clear position where the limit for legitimate sexual acts by adults lies. The Humanist Union declared that there could be no "consensual sexuality" between adults and children, but opposed the demonization of criminals and a criminal policy of fear. The Berlin District Court forbade Müller by an order of 13 April 2010, the further spread of these or similarly worded statements.

In 2010, managing director Sven Lüders expressed himself in the association's internal communications with a review and a longer critical review. With reference to its 2004 declaration, the association emphasizes on its website that it does not advocate impunity for sexual exchanges between adults and children.

Publications

Members magazine

The HU association magazine Mitteilungen ( ISSN  0046-824X ) primarily deals with internal issues and ongoing work projects of the Humanist Union. It has been published quarterly since 1962.

"Processes"

Since the merger with the Gustav Heinemann Initiative (GHI), the Humanist Union has been the sole publisher of the processes - Journal for Citizens' Rights and Social Policy ( ISSN  0507-4150 ). Both civil rights organizations had previously published the magazine together. The magazine has existed since 1961. It appears four times a year.

Fundamental Rights Report

Together with other associations, the HU has been publishing the Fundamental Rights Report annually since 1997, which deals with the situation of civil and human rights in Germany.

Prizes awarded

Fritz Bauer Prize

Since 1968, the Humanist Union has awarded the Fritz Bauer Prize annually to personalities or institutions who have made a special contribution to the democratization, liberalization and humanization of the legal system in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Ingeborg Drewitz Prize

The Ingeborg Drewitz Prize is a prize donated by the Berlin Regional Association in 1987 to commemorate the writer Ingeborg Drewitz , who died in 1986 . It is awarded at irregular intervals to people and institutions that have made a special commitment to human dignity.

Marburg beacon

Since 2005, the city of Marburg and the local branch of the Humanist Union Marburg have jointly awarded the Marburg beacon for social civil rights . The price is undoped. It represents recognition "for outstanding services to social civil rights".

Previous winners are:

literature

  • Jürgen Hofmann: The Humanist Union: a contribution to the sociology of intellectuals. Verlag Gestern u. Today, Munich 1967.
  • Thymian Bussemer, Alexander Camman (Ed.): Enforce freedom rights, demand fundamental rights, live in freedom. The Humanist Union on the 40th anniversary. 1st edition. Leske + Budrich Publishing House, Berlin 2001.
  • Fifty years of the Humanist Union. In: Operations. Journal for civil rights and social policy, issue 194 (2/2011), Berlin 2011.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ HU turns 50 - and is not a bit tired (HU event report from the reception of the regional association Munich-Südbayern on the occasion of the 50th anniversary on July 8, 2011)
  2. ^ Till Müller-Heidelberg: Away with the protection of the constitution - the (un) secret state authority . In: HU-Schriften . No. 17 . Self-published, Munich 1991 ( humanistische-union.de ). or Protection of the Constitution: Qualified Controversy ( Memento from December 9, 2012 on WebCite )
  3. ↑ http://www.humanistische-union.de/wir_ueber_uns/verein/satzung/artikel_12
  4. ^ A b Gerhard Szczesny's call for the establishment of a Humanist Union of June 6, 1961
  5. ↑ http://www.humanistische-union.de/nc/wir_ueber_uns/geschichte/geschichtedetail/back/geschichte/article/aus-den-anfaengen-der-hu-persoenliche-erfahrungen/
  6. ↑ Press release 11/2007 of the Humanist Union
  7. ↑ Merger of the Gustav Heinemann Initiative and the Humanist Union
  8. ↑ HU remains HU - Voting to change the club name just misses the quorum. Association news of the HU, December 16, 2010 , accessed on April 22, 2011
  9. ^ "Freedom instead of fear 2008" - demonstration against the surveillance mania
  10. ↑ http://www.humanistische-union.de/wir_ueber_uns/verein/vorstand/
  11. ↑ For the current composition of the board see http://www.humanistische-union.de/wir_ueber_uns/verein/vorstand/
  12. ↑ Peter Carstens: The movable defense architecture. In: FAZ.net . May 4, 2011, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  13. ↑ For the current composition of the advisory board see http://www.humanistische-union.de/wir_ueber_uns/verein/beirat
  14. ↑ http://www.humanistische-union.de/nc/wir_ueber_uns/verein/beirat/historie_beirat/
  15. ↑ Der Spiegel: The Humanist Union - Very tough. Issue 22/1967 of May 22, 1967, online version accessed on March 11, 2014.
  16. ↑ http://www.volkerbeck.de/person-beck/nebentaetigungen-und-nebeneinkuenfte/
  17. ^ OV Frankfurt of the HU
  18. ↑ Verfassungsschutz: Qualified controversy ( memento from December 9, 2012 on WebCite ) or discussion in the FR depot: Do we need the Verfassungsschutz? ( Memento from September 4, 2012 on WebCite ) or panel discussion on the protection of the Constitution: The price you pay. ( Memento from September 7, 2012 on WebCite )
  19. ↑ Lecture series Leitkultur Menschenrechte ( Memento from December 10, 2012 on WebCite )
  20. ↑ Pope unwanted ( memento of December 9, 2012 on WebCite )
  21. ↑ http://marburger-leuchtfeuer.de/
  22. ↑ http://www.hu-bildungswerk.de/
  23. ↑ http://www.humanistische-union.de/wir_ueber_uns/kontakt/einrichtungen/
  24. ↑ Communications. No. 171.  III / September 2000, pp. 63-65. (PDF; 7.1 MB)
  25. ↑ Communications No. 172.  IV / December 2000, HU conference reports and notes, pp. 86–88. (PDF; 7 MB)
  26. ↑ Rüdiger Gollnick: Sexual Violations of Limits in the Teacher-Student Relationship in State Schools , p. 211f.
  27. ^ Humanist Union gives Regensburg Bishop Müller an ultimatum to retract his slander. Press release, March 13, 2010 ( online )
  28. ↑ Article "Court warns Hetz-Bischof from" from April 16, 2010 on Wissenrockt.de ( online ( memento of the original from April 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wissenrockt.de
  29. ↑ Sexual Policy: Citizens' Rights and Responsibility, in: Communications No. 208 of July 2010 pp. 28–32. (PDF), last accessed on November 11, 2015
  30. ↑ FAQ of March 12, 2010 on the website of the Humanist Union , last accessed on November 11, 2015
  31. ^ Marburg beacon for social civil rights