Association of the Foreign Press in Germany
The Association of Foreign Press in Germany e. V. (VAP) is an association of Germany correspondents for international mass media in Germany based in Berlin . It was founded in 1906 , making it the oldest journalists' organization in Germany and one of the oldest in the world.
organization
The association has around 420 members from around sixty countries. They are professional journalists for print media , news agencies , television and radio stations who are based abroad, as well as for the Internet . The foreign professional observers of the country and its people shape the image of Germany in the world.
The board elected in 2015 consists of the chairman Pascal Thibaut (France) and his deputy Cornelia Günther (Great Britain) as well as Natalia Fiebrig (Ukraine), Jacek Lepiarz (Poland), Oliver Towfigh-Nia (Iran), Birgit Baumann (Austria) and Georgios Pappas (Greece) together.
history
The VAP was founded in 1906. The first chairman was the Austrian Paul Goldmann , correspondent for the Wiener Neue Freie Presse . The letter with which he notified the Federal Foreign Office and the authorities in Berlin that it was founded is dated June 30, 1906.
Initially there were only thirty members. The association was not officially registered until 19 years later, at which point it already had more than eighty members.
The association was inactive between 1945 and 1951. After that - Germany was now divided into two states - two independent associations had to be founded: the nationwide VAP at the seat of government in Bonn , the second, based in Berlin, which was also open to journalists who reported on the GDR from West Berlin .
With the prospect of a possible reunification , the founding of the VAP in the Federal Republic of Germany e. V .: “The intention is, as soon as conditions allow, the newly formed association of foreign journalists in Bonn to take over the successor of the 'Verein der Ausländische Presse zu Berlin e. V. ' to compete. "
When it was founded, the number of members was initially around 30 correspondents. At this point in time, the foreign journalists still had a clear information advantage over their German colleagues due to better relationships with the military governments, which initially led to considerable tension between the two groups. The foreign press - like the Federal Press Conference - was established in Bonn for the next four decades; The only thing missing was a representative clubhouse for the receptions. After years of negotiations, the association took over a stake of DM 5,000 in the "Presseclub-Wirtschafts-GmbH" in April 1954 and moved into the house at Koblenzer Straße 95 (from 1977 Heinrich-Brüning-Straße 20 ) together with the German Press Club .
In 1955 Soviet correspondents came to Bonn. They were also included in the VAP, but only after lengthy discussions.
There were also heated discussions about the membership of the correspondents from the GDR. Since the GDR was viewed as domestic according to West German views and had to be considered foreign according to East German wishes, there were great reservations about the entry of the correspondents from the GDR into the VAP. While the GDR journalists were not accredited as foreign correspondents at the Federal Press Office, they were given the special status of correspondents of another state in accordance with the Basic Treaty from 1975 and could be members of the VAP. In 1990 Horst Schäfer , who worked for the General German Intelligence Service in the GDR, was even elected to the board of the association. The membership of the correspondents from the GDR ended with the reunification .
At the beginning of 1990 the two VAPs merged to form today's organization.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anke Fiedler : With your back to the wall. How the Federal Republic suppressed unwanted GDR reporting