Our best

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Our best was the title of a television series on ZDF from 2003 to 2008, and the 2014 series was called Germany's best! In the context of a Johannes B. Kerner moderated ranking show presented rankings were allegedly determined by taking place in the run-up, non-representative viewer voting. Suitable guests were invited to each program. After it became public in July 2014 that serious manipulations had been carried out on the ranking show, the program was removed from the program and the then head of entertainment, Oliver Fuchs , offered his resignation, although he was not responsible for the cause.

The model for the broadcast concept was originally the British program 100 Greatest Britons of the BBC .

mode

ZDF published a list of suggested names for each topic. This should serve as a guide and could be supplemented by the voting audience. Voting takes place by post, SMS and also on the Internet , which makes mass voting easier. All votes cast were added up and the ranking list presented later was created from them.

Questions before the first show

Before the first show, to which "The Greatest Germans" should be chosen in 2003, there were discussions about whether only "Germans" should be named who were founded in 1949 on the territory of the GDR (and expanded in 1990 by the accession of the GDR) ) Federal Republic of Germany or all other "Germans" in the sense of their German language and culture, regardless of the rule or state under which they lived. The controversies are similar to those about the personalities of the "German tongue" who were accepted into the Walhalla Hall of Fame , which opened in 1843 . The ZDF had therefore decided not to allow the selection of our best from today's national borders (states), but neutral as a criterion solely the membership of the German language and cultural community. Criticism, especially from British tabloids, was also the failure to consider Adolf Hitler and other third Reich politicians.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for example, an important composer and son of the composer Leopold Mozart , who was also well-known in his time , was born in the Bavarian and then imperial archbishopric of Salzburg . This diocese only became part of the Austrian Empire or the present-day Republic of Austria long after his death .
  • The birthplace of the famous German-speaking “jungle doctor” Albert Schweitzer near Colmar in Alsace belonged to the then German Empire , later (again) to France.
  • Nicolaus Copernicus was also introduced as a "hobby astronomer". He came from the German-speaking citizenship of the city of Thorn , which had submitted to the King of Poland a few years before his birth. On June 12, 2003, the Polish Senate, on the initiative of its Commission for Poles Abroad, adopted a declaration “in memory of the great Pole Mikołaj Kopernik ... this outstanding Poland ... the defender of the (Allenstein) Castle during the Polish German War ... the great Pole ... "
  • It was a matter of course, for example, for the great intellectuals Sigmund Freud and Immanuel Kant to call themselves Austrian or Prussian and German - there was no contradiction.
  • Writers who wrote their works in the German language, such as Franz Kafka or Nobel Prize winner Elias Canetti , were hardly considered

In the latter sense, native-speaking German people call themselves Germans. State borders were not language borders, nor are they today, and state structures have changed over and over again in the course of history due to princely weddings or wars.

criticism

The resulting inclusion of the personalities described above resulted in some violent criticism, although for centuries the word “German” denoted a member of the German cultural and linguistic community (ethnic group), regardless of which country he lived in. For several decades, a change in meaning has been observed in the sense that most people today use "German" synonymously with "Citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany", although here different facts have to be conceptually separated, which are otherwise obscured by the newer language regulation.

The criticism from Poland concerned the German assignment of Nicolaus Copernicus. Differentiated criticism came from Austria, as there was a dispute over the allocation of the program.

Furthermore, the ranking lists created were criticized because they are limited in their informative value and it is hardly possible to find objective criteria with which one can compare people from different areas of responsibility. This was criticized again and again, especially with the first broadcast.

The rankings also represent only a snapshot of the current opinion picture (e.g. Oliver Kahn was still represented in the top 10 of the greatest athletes in 2004 and here the third-best-placed footballer; a year and a half later he was in the top 10 of greatest footballer no longer there). Also, the participants in such votes are not to be seen as representative of all Germans, as certain population groups do not participate or do so below or above average for various reasons. In addition, the acquisition of votes via so-called ambassadors is also to be understood as marketing a person (for example, Guido Knopp advertised Adenauer in the last voting phase). The program was also recorded in Berlin with an audience that was subliminally influencing the television viewers with derogatory statements about Adenauer and on the other hand with expressions of consent to Marx. Many people who were only known or successful for a short time were able to place themselves high in individual programs because they enjoyed a lot of attention at the time of voting. An extreme example of this is Daniel Küblböck , the participant in a casting show, who made it to 16th place in the ranking.

The result after the new edition in 2014 was particularly problematic (see below). Here, the ZDF not only had to admit methodological errors and the complete rejection of the viewer voting carried out in advance, individual manipulations were also carried out in order to be able to present invited guests better ratings without their knowledge.

Rankings of the programs

Our best - the greatest Germans

Konrad Adenauer
Broadcast on November 28, 2003
  1. Konrad Adenauer , politician / Federal Chancellor (1876–1967)
  2. Martin Luther , church reformer (1483–1546)
  3. Karl Marx , philosopher and economist (1818–1883)
  4. Sophie and Hans Scholl , resistance fighters (" White Rose ") (1921 / 1918–1943)
  5. Willy Brandt , politician / Federal Chancellor (1913–1992)
  6. Johann Sebastian Bach , composer (1685–1750)
  7. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , poet and writer (1749–1832)
  8. Johannes Gutenberg , inventor of mobile letter printing (1400–1468)
  9. Otto von Bismarck , politician / Reich Chancellor (1815–1898)
  10. Albert Einstein , natural scientist / physicist (1879–1955)

Our best - the Germans' favorite books

The one ring
Broadcast on October 1, 2004
  1. The Lord of the Rings ( novel by the British author JRR Tolkien )
  2. The Bible (The Holy Scriptures of Christianity )
  3. The Pillars of the Earth (novel by British author Ken Follett )
  4. The perfume (novel by the German author Patrick Süskind )
  5. The Little Prince (story by the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry )
  6. Buddenbrooks (novel by the German author Thomas Mann )
  7. The Medicus (novel by the American author Noah Gordon )
  8. The Alchemist (novel by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho )
  9. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (novel by British author Joanne K. Rowling )
  10. The Popess (novel by the American writer Donna W. Cross )

Our best - athletes of the century

Michael sSchumacher
Broadcast on November 19, 2004
  1. Michael sSchumacher
  2. Birgit Fischer
  3. Steffi Graf
  4. Franz Beckenbauer
  5. Boris Becker
  6. Max Schmeling
  7. Jan Ullrich
  8. Franziska van Almsick
  9. Gerd Müller
  10. Oliver Kahn

Our best - the greatest inventions

Wheels on a wooden cart
Broadcast on June 17, 2005
  1. wheel
  2. Lightbulb
  3. Letterpress
  4. Power generation
  5. computer
  6. automobile
  7. antibiotic
  8. font
  9. phone
  10. plane

Our best - hits of the century

Scorpions performance at the Finnish rock festival Ankkarock (2003)
Broadcast on November 25, 2005
  1. Wind of Change ( Scorpions )
  2. You have to go over seven bridges ( carat )
  3. Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony ( Friedrich Schiller / Ludwig van Beethoven )
  4. Above the clouds ( Reinhard Mey )
  5. Adventure land ( pure )
  6. Old as a tree ( puhdys )
  7. A little peace ( Nicole )
  8. Boy, come back soon ( Freddy Quinn )
  9. 99 balloons ( Nena )
  10. Marble, stone and iron breaks ( Drafi Deutscher )

Our best - footballers

Franz Beckenbauer at the opening of the Fritz Walter House in Alsenborn
Broadcast on May 26, 2006
  1. Franz Beckenbauer
  2. Gerd Müller
  3. Michael Ballack
  4. Fritz Walter
  5. Uwe Seeler
  6. Günter Netzer
  7. Lothar Matthäus
  8. Sepp Maier
  9. Miroslav Klose
  10. Jürgen Klinsmann

Our best - the favorite places of the Germans

Cologne cathedral
Broadcast on September 22, 2006
  1. Cologne cathedral
  2. Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
  3. Castle church in Lutherstadt Wittenberg
  4. Prinzipalmarkt Münster
  5. Paderborn Town Hall Square
  6. Wuppertal suspension railway
  7. Hofbräuhaus in Munich
  8. Port of Hamburg
  9. Imperial and Mariendom in Speyer
  10. Medieval old town Quedlinburg

Our best - the greatest German-speaking film stars

Heinz Rühmann, 1946
Broadcast on November 24, 2006
  1. Heinz Rühmann
  2. Mario Adorf
  3. Romy Schneider
  4. Iris Berben
  5. Peter Alexander
  6. Veronica Ferres
  7. Heinz Erhardt
  8. Heino Ferch
  9. Inge Meysel
  10. Günter Strack

Our best - comedians and co.

Vicco von Bülow (Loriot) 2005
Broadcast on April 27, 2007
  1. Loriot
  2. Heinz Erhardt
  3. Otto Waalkes
  4. Hape Kerkeling
  5. Dieter Hallervorden
  6. Rudi Carrell
  7. Karl Valentin
  8. Michael Mittermeier
  9. Anke Engelke
  10. Dieter Hildebrandt

Our best - music stars of all time

Herbert Grönemeyer 2004
Broadcast on November 23, 2007 (The Böhsen Onkelz originally took first place, but were secretly placed 25th due to "block voting" (closed voting) by fans.)
  1. Herbert Grönemeyer
  2. Udo Juergens
  3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  4. Peter Maffay
  5. Nena
  6. Ludwig van Beethoven
  7. Roy Black
  8. Sarah Connor
  9. Xavier Naidoo
  10. André Rieu

Our best - the greatest television moments

Wall opening in 1989
Broadcast on April 25, 2008
  1. The opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989
  2. The moon landing in 1969
  3. Cardinal Ratzinger becomes Pope in 2005
  4. John F. Kennedy : " I am a Berliner " 1963
  5. Football World Cup 2006
  6. The wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles in 1981
  7. The Lengede miracle in 1963
  8. The 1999 solar eclipse
  9. Willy Brandt kneeled in Warsaw in 1970
  10. The lonely "Emperor" at the World Cup in Rome in 1990

Our best - Olympic moments

Ulrike Meyfarth
Broadcast on July 25, 2008
  1. Ulrike Meyfarth (The high jump miracle - Munich 1972 )
  2. Muhammad Ali ("The Greatest" - Atlanta 1996 )
  3. Michael Groß ("Fly, Albatross, fly!" - Los Angeles 1984 )
  4. Cathy Freeman (Australia's Hope - Sydney 2000 )
  5. Heide Rosendahl ("Miss Athletics" - Munich 1972 )
  6. Boris Becker / Michael Stich (double gold - Barcelona 1992 )
  7. Birgit Fischer (Canoe Queen - Athens 2004 )
  8. Mark Spitz (7 × gold - Munich 1972 )
  9. Waldemar Cierpinski (The Marathon Man - Moscow 1980 )
  10. Jesse Owens (Hero of Berlin - Berlin 1936 )

New edition 2014

In 2014 the ranking show was named Germany's Best! continued. The preselection is based on a representative survey carried out on behalf of ZDF by the opinion research institute Forsa , which was used to determine which public figures, in the opinion of Germans, are among the “best” men and women in the country. ZDF carried out an online survey in which viewers could vote for their favorites. There was a choice of 100 women and 100 still living men. The Hörzu television magazine also had a vote. In issue 20 of May 9, 2014, the two “Top 100” lists were presented alphabetically on four pages. The reader could choose up to five people from both groups. The voting could be done by postcard to Hörzu or via their website. The lists were illustrated on this.

Manipulations

As it turned out in retrospect, starting with inquiries from Zapp magazine and media journalist Stefan Niggemeier , only a second Forsa survey was used to rank the “best” 50 in each case; the ZDF online and Hörzu voting were not considered. This was justified, among other things, with the alleged influence of fan groups on the online voting. In addition, there was arbitrary manipulation by the editorial team, in which invited guests such as Claus Kleber and Franz Beckenbauer were moved to the front, while the presenter of RTL aktuell , Peter Kloeppel , was moved to a back position.

The show was again moderated by Johannes B. Kerner. In the first episode on July 2, 2014 at 8:15 pm, the men were presented, the women followed on the following day. The guests in the studio were Maria Höfl-Riesch , Michael Bully Herbig , Claus Kleber, Günther Jauch and Franz Beckenbauer as well as Hannelore Kraft , Rosi Mittermaier , Katarina Witt , Ruth Maria Kubitschek and Hans Sigl , who (except for Sigl) all appeared in the ranking. Olaf Schubert also acted as co-moderator.

In connection with the 2014 manipulations, it became known that the band Böhse Onkelz was secretly downgraded from 1st place to 25th place in 2007 in the show Our Best - Music Stars of All Time with the knowledge of the then program director Thomas Bellut .

Then ZDF entertainment director Oliver Fuchs offered to resign. In addition, the team leader responsible for the two shows in 2014 was relieved of her management function and, like another editor, was warned. In this context, the setting of the series Deutschlands Beste! proclaimed. Fuchs' resignation was accepted by ZDF director Thomas Bellut and program director Norbert Himmler .

The (manipulated) ranking lists of the two programs are shown below:

Germany's best men

Helmut Schmidt 2013
Broadcast on July 2, 2014
  1. Helmut Schmidt
  2. Hans-Dietrich Genscher
  3. Richard von Weizsäcker
  4. Günther Jauch
  5. Joachim Gauck
  6. Frank-Walter Steinmeier
  7. Helmut Kohl
  8. Benedict XVI.
  9. Franz Beckenbauer
  10. Michael sSchumacher
  11. Wolfgang Schäuble
  12. Hape Kerkeling
  13. Günter Grass
  14. Mario Adorf
  15. Sebastian Vettel
  16. Jogi Loew
  17. Uwe Seeler
  18. Armin Mueller-Stahl
  19. Ulrich Wickert
  20. Thomas Gottschalk
  21. Peter Maffay
  22. Dirk Nowitzki
  23. Gerhard Schröder
  24. Frank Elstner
  25. Thomas Südhof
  26. Hellmuth Karasek
  27. Gregor Gysi
  28. Claus Kleber
  29. Jürgen Klopp
  30. Sigmar Gabriel
  31. Herbert Grönemeyer
  32. Manuel Neuer
  33. Sepp Maier
  34. Götz George
  35. Christoph Waltz
  36. Michael Herbig
  37. Joschka Fischer
  38. David Garrett
  39. Peter Kloeppel
  40. James Last
  41. Oliver Welke
  42. Jan Hofer
  43. Reinhard Mey
  44. Jan Josef Liefers
  45. Peer Steinbruck
  46. Philipp Lahm
  47. Roland Emmerich
  48. Siegfried Lenz
  49. Hubert Burda
  50. Horst Seehofer

Germany's best women

Angela Merkel 2010
Broadcast on July 3, 2014
  1. Angela Merkel
  2. Steffi Graf
  3. Magdalena Neuner
  4. Hannelore Kraft
  5. Helene Fischer
  6. Ursula von der Leyen
  7. Silvia Neid
  8. Barbara Schöneberger
  9. Senta Berger
  10. Hildegard Hamm-Brücher
  11. Rita Süssmuth
  12. Iris Berben
  13. Nena
  14. Margot Käßmann
  15. Maria Höfl-Riesch
  16. Rosi Mittermaier
  17. Marietta Slomka
  18. Anke Engelke
  19. Nadine Angerer
  20. Peace Springer
  21. Maria Furtwängler
  22. Anne Will
  23. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
  24. Anne-Sophie mother
  25. Katarina Witt
  26. Andrea Henkel
  27. Elke Heidenreich
  28. Birgit Prinz
  29. Andrea Berg
  30. Ruth-Maria Kubitschek
  31. Dagmar Berghoff
  32. Maybrit Illner
  33. Ina Müller
  34. Hannelore Elsner
  35. Renate Künast
  36. Claudia Roth
  37. Sandra Maischberger
  38. Caren Miosga
  39. Cornelia Funke
  40. Kati Wilhelm
  41. Uschi Glas
  42. Anni Friesinger-Postma
  43. Heath Simonis
  44. Annette Frier
  45. Katrin Müller-Hohenstein
  46. Sahra Wagenknecht
  47. Claudia Pechstein
  48. Martina Hill
  49. Franziska van Almsick
  50. Jutta Speidel

Manipulations made

According to the ZDF press release of July 11, 2014, the Forsa placements in the two lists were changed by the ZDF editorial team as follows (this also shifted placements in between):

Germany's best men

  • Frank-Walter Steinmeier (from 10 to 6)
  • Franz Beckenbauer (from 31 to 9)
  • Wolfgang Schäuble (from 6 to 11)
  • Claus Kleber (from 39 to 28)
  • Michael Herbig (from 42 to 36)
  • Peter Kloeppel (from 27 to 39)
  • Jan Hofer (from 36 to 42)

Germany's best women

  • Hannelore Kraft (from 5 to 4)
  • Helene Fischer (from 10 to 5)
  • Ursula von der Leyen (from 4 to 6)

See also

Individual evidence

  1. "Germany's best!" - ZDF show boss must go , in: FAZ on July 18, 2014, accessed on July 18, 2014
  2. The scandal over "Germany's best!" , In: Die Welt on July 18, 2014, accessed on July 18, 2014
  3. Scandal about "Germany's best!" - Now someone has to go , in: Die Sueddeutsche on July 18, 2014, accessed on July 18, 2014
  4. Peter Arens: "Our best - who is the greatest German?" - ZDF viewers prevent the fall of the West "Our best - who is the greatest German?"
  5. ^ Austrians outraged by ZDF: "Germans want to steal our Mozart!" Austrians outraged by ZDF: "Germans want to steal our Mozart!"
  6. Mainz broadcaster: "A bit of flexibility is a must": Austrians outraged by ZDF: Mozart a German? Mainz broadcaster: "A bit of flexibility is a must" - Austrians outraged by ZDF: Mozart a German? ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rp-online.de
  7. Alphabetical list "Our Best" from AZ ( Memento from August 14, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ^ ZDF vote British papers mock Hitler ban ZDF vote: British papers mock Hitler ban
  9. Nikolaus Kopernikus - astronomer and mathematician ( Memento of October 3, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  10. Print no. 417 12 czerwca 2003 r. ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Stenographic protocol ( memento of the original from May 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.senat.gov.pl  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.senat.gov.pl
  11. http://www.dwdl.de/nachrichten/46679/rankingschmu_himmler_kuendigt_konsequenzen_an/
  12. ^ "Böhse Onkelz", good ZDF: The second manipulated another show , in: Der Tagesspiegel on July 15, 2013, accessed on July 18, 2014
  13. http://www.stefan-niggemeier.de/blog/18300/die-schein-abstektiven-des-zdf-fuer-deutschlands-beste/
  14. https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendung/zapp/blog/ZDF-blufft-bei-Zuschauer-Voting,zdfbeste102.html#0
  15. Suddenly number one. In: sueddeutsche.de. July 15, 2014, accessed March 26, 2018 .
  16. a b - ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zdf.de
  17. Friederike Zoe Grasshoff: Confusion everywhere. In: sueddeutsche.de . July 9, 2014, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  18. dpa: "Germany's best!": ZDF admits targeted manipulation of the TV show. In: Zeit Online. July 11, 2014, accessed July 11, 2014 .
  19. kiru: “Germany's best”: ZDF admits targeted manipulation of surveys on TV show. In: Focus Online . July 11, 2014, accessed October 14, 2018 .
  20. http://www.tagesspiegel.de/medien/unsere-besten-musikstars-aller-zeiten-boehse-onkelz-gutes-zdf-das-zweite-manipulierte-weiter-show/10204864.html
  21. ZDF draws conclusions after manipulation of "Germany's Best!" ( Memento from July 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  22. Arno Frank: Resignation after the cheat affair: Gudde Naaacht, ZDF! In: Spiegel Online . July 17, 2014, accessed June 9, 2018 .

Web links