Olaf Ihlau

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Olaf Ihlau (born April 2, 1942 in Koenigsberg ) is a German social scientist , journalist and non-fiction author with a doctorate .

Life

After studying social sciences , he belonged to a group of Abendroth students who did their doctorate in the 1960s at the Philipps University in Marburg under Wolfgang Abendroth on organizations of the labor movement during the Weimar Republic (" Marburg School ").

Ihlau received his doctorate in 1968 on the resistance movement Red Fighters .

He began his journalistic career as editor of the NRZ " Neue Ruhr Zeitung " in Essen.

He worked for the Süddeutsche Zeitung for 17 years , including 13 years as a correspondent in Belgrade , Athens , New Delhi and London ;

Ihlau was head of department at " Spiegel " for 16 years , most recently 1991–1994 as head of foreign affairs. End of 1994 - end of 1998 he was head of the Bonn office; then head abroad again until the end of 2004.

Since then he has lived as an author in Berlin-Zehlendorf and Ibiza .

Publications

World power India 2006

Ihlau tries to present India as a "new challenge for the West". "Only if the European Union succeeds in growing together into a real unity around a hard core capable of action," it will face the battles in the world of tomorrow. Or it will go under in the storm surge of the new world powers China and India. Ihlau depicts the race between India and China and makes the growth dynamic clear on the basis of extensive data. However, there are inhibitions to development, such as the caste system that continues to exist contrary to the constitution: “Only if Indian democracy succeeds in eliminating the division of society by overcoming the caste system, i.e. with an egalitarian social transformation, will it be able to achieve unity and Dynamic growth in order to one day establish itself as a world power. "

“Ihlau shows the impressive sides of Indian culture, but also denounces its dark sides - be it the miserable social position of women, which is expressed in forced marriages and widow burnings, or the marginalization of lepers. It does not mystify, but rather spreads an honest, undisguised panorama of Indian society before the reader. Mata Bharat, mother India, is a continent of extremes - this becomes clear in this book. But also: we will have to reckon with India in the future. It is high time to take a closer look at the Republic on the Ganges and get to know this contradicting, diverse and amazing country. 'World power India' is exactly the right place to start. "

Beloved Dark Land 2007

The Stern review emphasizes that Ihlaus and Susanne Koelbl's publication reveals the lack of a common strategy of the West, which could not win this war militarily. This also requires a civilian international effort that includes all countries in the region. It is a detailed representation of the history and cultural backgrounds of the conflicts in and around Afghanistan, which both authors present from their wealth of experience. You criticize the austerity budget for Afghanistan compared to Kosovo. One million soldiers, twenty times the number deployed today, would be required “to create a security situation similar to that in the Balkans”. The book was recommended by Egon Bahr and Fischer.

Minefield Balkans 2009

Ihlau and Walter Mayr vividly and convincingly present the causes of the painful civil wars. Thomas Brey, however, complains in his review that there is a lack of prospects for the many further unsolved problems in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Not a word about the fact that the old nationalist cadres are back in government in Belgrade and that President Boris Tadic, who is praised as pro-Western , is being compared to Milosevic again today because of his unlimited power ." Timo Lüth emphasizes that Ihlau and Mayr also take a critical look at the German role in the break-up of Yugoslavia. The authors see the German policy of recognition towards Slovenia and Croatia in the context of a strategy of the “internationalization of the conflict” (276), which, if necessary, would have carelessly accepted even the case of war.

Criticism of the coverage of the mirror

In the lecture series “Reporter, Reporter, War Reporter” at the University of Leipzig on January 21, 2016, Ihlau expressed criticism of Spiegel's reporting on Russia and Ukraine. "If the mirror becomes more and more mainstream, then I don't even need to buy it." Real "Putin bashing" is being practiced. “Who pushed Ukraine into this conflict? It was the Americans! Of course they wanted to get to the Crimea in the long term to drive out the Russian fleet. "

Monographs (selection)

  • Olaf Ihlau: The Red Fighters. A contribution to the history of the labor movement in the Weimar Republic and in the “Third Reich” . Meisenheim am Glan 1969.
  • Olaf Ihlau, Miodrag Vukić (ed.): Yugoslavia, a changing model . Fischer Taschenbuch, Munich 1973, ISBN 3-436-01654-3 .
  • Olaf Ihlau: World power India. The new challenge from the west . Siedler Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-88680-851-3 .
  • Olaf Ihlau, Susanne Koelbl : Beloved, dark country. People and powers in Afghanistan . Siedler Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-88680-878-5 .
  • Olaf Ihlau, Walter Mayr : Minefield Balkans. Europe's restless backyard . Siedler Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 3-88680-916-1 .
  • Olaf Ihlau: The handcart. Our escape from the east . Siedler Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-8275-0050-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Olaf Ihlau: Second World War: The Fluchthelfer . In: The time . No. 39/2013 ( online ).
  2. ↑ Klaus Kremb, review of: Olaf Ihlau: World Power India. Munich: 2006, in: Portal für Politikwissenschaft, http://pw-portal.de/rezension/26501-weltmacht-lösungen_30889 , published on June 25, 2007.
  3. ↑ Maria Hinz, SPECIAL on Olaf Ihlau "World Power India" India - A Giant Awakes, Review by Maria Hinz: Olaf Ihlau - "World Power India" - Settlers. In: randomhouse.de. February 26, 2016, archived from the original on March 3, 2016 ; accessed on February 26, 2016 .
  4. ^ Reviewed by Hans Christoph Buch: Between the caste system and the IT business. In: deutschlandradiokultur.de. August 18, 2006, accessed February 26, 2016 .
  5. ↑ "Beloved Dark Land": 320 pages Afghanistan - Abroad. In: stern.de . October 10, 2007, accessed February 26, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Carsten Michael Nickel, review of: Susanne Koelbl / Olaf Ihlau: Geliebtes, dunkles Land. Berlin: 2007, in: Portal für Politikwissenschaft, http://pw-portal.de/rezension/28343-geliebtes-dunkles-land_33367 , published on April 2, 2008.
  7. ↑ [1] (PDF file)
  8. ↑ © Die Berliner Literaturkritik, December 16, 2009: Olaf Ihlau / Walter Mayr: Minenfeld Balkan. The restless backyard of Europe (Siedler-Verlag) / review. In: berlinerliteraturkritik.de. January 10, 2008, accessed February 26, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Timo Lüth, review of: Olaf Ihlau / Walter Mayr: Minenfeld Balkan. Munich: 2009, in: Portal für Politikwissenschaft, http://pw-portal.de/rezension/9094-minenfeld-balkan_36846 , published on January 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ Lvz-Online: Journalistik-Forum - “The Balkans will experience a bloody comeback”. In: lvz.de. February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Ihlau, Olaf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German author
DATE OF BIRTH April 2, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg , East Prussia