Twelve Tribes Germany update 4 2013 October 17

I was notified by commenter LittleProf that there was going to be an editorial on page 3 of the Süddeutsche Zeitung this past week on the Twelve Tribes, and also notified of a news article I should pay attention to. I’ve since had dental work and gotten sick, so I’ve been slow in updating because I wanted to be assured that quality work went into this post before it was to be published.On the 10th of October, we had an update from several news outlets:

Four pairs of Wörnitz concerned parents have now filed an appeal against the order of the District Court of Ansbach before the Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg.
Augsburger Allgemeine: Complaint of “Twelve Tribes” Cult members from Wörnitz go to the High Court
Their nine children are currently placed in foster families.
BR: Twelve Tribes Parents appeal ruling in Wörnitz (County Ansbach)

39 children are still in foster care. The group had repeatedly acknowledged that it chastises her children.
Augsburger Allgemeine: “Twelve Tribes”: the sect parents defend themselves against loss of custody

With the temporary deprivation of custody from the parents of the controversial sect “Twelve Tribes” must now be addressed by the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court.
Nord Bayern: “Twelve Tribes”: parents defend themselves against loss of custody

The bulk of the proceedings shall be conducted at the district court in Nordlingen, where there has not yet been a decision from the family court judge.
Focus Online: Parents of the sect “Twelve Tribes” defend themselves against loss of custody

Also on the 10th, there was a story released by Pro Medienmagazin that was snippet of the interview with an ex-member of the sect, which published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung [entitled: A life of Punishment: Two ex-members of the Twelve Tribes sect tell how they were beaten and exploited for years in the middle of Bavaria - no one helped them], which we found  thanks to LittleProf. I’ll happily try and scan it in for anyone who is unable to get a back issue of the paper.

 

Photo: J. Stahl, Die Seite Drei “Das Leben, eine Strafe” Süddeutsche Zeitung nr. 234, Donnerstag, 10. October 2013

 

…Behind the corporal punishment, blame is placed on the faith of the members in “innate depravity and original sin of man.” The lawyer for the “Twelve Tribes” Michael Kremnitz, sees things differently. “Properly applied, the punishment would have “the character of a ritual gesture”. The sect has a 146-page educational booklet which identifies the positive experience of corporal punishment in the dressage of dogs…
Pro Medienmagazin: Ex-member reports: “All children are beaten”

The Süddeutsche Zeitung, in Die Seite Drei, tend to take a rather good and harsh look at the ex-members and questioned them rather well, in my humble opinion. Inside the article, two former members are questioned, who had lived within the sect for fourteen years or more.  They describe daily beatings, being required to work for long hours and not being compensated for it and how the sect moved children around and presented an idyll to state inspectors.

On the 14th, the Donau-Ries Aktuell ran a story on another Twelve Tribes issue; and said that they’ve got a new website up:

..the names of people living in Klosterzimmern Wörnitz and families are all listed. By clicking on the families, we come to a collection of documents that were drawn up by members of the Twelve Tribes… On the website administrators have published documents that members of the Twelve Tribes have sent to the family courts at the district court in Ansbach and Nördlingen…
Donau-Ries Aktuell: Twelve Tribes: published opinions of the courts

This was later pulled, but was up for enough time that anyone could download and/or read these documents. Which is problematic given the court case and privacy laws.

So, there you have it. The update on what I’ve seen coming/going in the German news on the issue. Hopefully there will be a resolution for the children soon, but I fear this will be a long case and not finished until after the holidays.