Helnwein in Court 4/7
German_Scn_News <german_scn_news@hotmail.com>
5 Feb 2000

From http://members.tripod.com/German_Scn_News/has07.htm
This url has LOTS of graphics which are scans of the original documentation

Helnwein in Court - 1991 to 1997 - continued

Helnwein & Scientology, Lies & Treason by Peter Reichelt, 1997 - Page 333

SWORN
AFFIRMATION

In recognition of the meaning of a sworn affirmation and the penalties of submitting a false, even a negligently false, affirmation, I hereby affirm and present to the court under oath:

Personal Information:

Gottfried Helnwein, painter, at the castle 2,
5475 Burgbrohl

Subject Information:

I am a member of the Roman Catholic Church - having been educated in a cloister kindergarten and in a cloister school of the school brother order ["Schulbruederorden"] and with the Jesuits in Vienna.

During the time I was in high school with the Jesuits, I heard of priests of this order who went to Japan and meditated in the Zen Buddhism cloisters for years, even became Zen masters, and did this with the permission of the Jesuit Order and in accord with the Catholic Church. Excited by a conversation with a Jesuit father, I also began to be interested in Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and later in Yoga and Scientology. I read many books on these subjects and took a few courses in Yoga and Scientology. That happened as a result of personal interest and curiosity.

I was a (passive) member in a Yoga association as well as in Scientology in order to be able to take their courses (as one, e.g., is a member of a book club to acquire certain books).

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Gottfried Helnwein's "Sworn Affirmation" of 15 May 1992 Helnwein: "... No activities of any sort took place in the park nor in my castle which had the least bit to do with recruitment - neither for Scientology nor for any other purpose ..."

Helnwein & Scientology, Lies & Treason by Peter Reichelt, 1997 - Page 334

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I am currently occupied with the Talmud and the Kabbala, which does not mean however, that I intend to found a Jewish cultural center or a Synagogue here.

My philosophical studies are of a purely private nature and are part of my intimate sphere. What other people are occupied with, why or whether they believe anything in general, has never interested me, and I decisively reject any form of coercive missionary work or religious zealotry.

2. Therefore it is completely incomprehensible to me why some people have been trying for two or three years to discredit me in that they spread the false assertion that my residence and my studio are a sect center and that I am trying to recruit people for Scientology.

In order to protect myself and my family, and above all my four children, from hostilities, aggressions and attacks, I have applied to the Koblenz State Court to effect a Temporary Restraining Order against the Olbrueckrundschau newspaper, which has published this kind of assertion.

The Olbrueckrundschau was immediately ready to sign a cease-and-desist order, and had not even tried to raise an objection, because the Protestant ministers quoted by them testified in court that they had never made those statements and would not make them in the future.

3. Now Mr. Brosius from the neighboring village of Niederzissen is repeating similar assertions against me, namely the assertion that I am recruiting for Scientology on my estate. Because Mr. Brosius, to my knowledge, does not know me at all, he is relying on second-hand information. He is relying on Mr. Norbert Potthoff, who, as far as I know, has never set foot in my house. I

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Helnwein & Scientology, Lies & Treason by Peter Reichelt, 1997 - Page 335

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have only seen him a single time for a couple of seconds in the house of my neighbor at the time, Mr. Rudolf Kruspel, and said "Guten Tag" - that was all.

4. I would like to set the folowing [sic] straight in regards to Mr. Norbert Potthoff's written sworn affirmation.

The basis of the error (the false testimony?) of Mr. Potthoff is his ignorance (refusal to say?) that there are two different castle buildings in Burgbrohl. Castle 1, the former winery, belonged to native residents Mr. Sahl and Mrs. Lauer until 1989. Between April 1985 and 1987, this Castle 1 was rented to Mr. Rudolf Kruspel. In contrast, I rented Castle 2 (the Castle) in 1984 (not in 1985) and moved in with my wife and children that same year (Mr. Potthoff's time line is already false). If Mr. Potthoff continues to maintain that I have put a room in my castle at the disposal of the Scientology Church, then that is also false. Neither I nor my wife have made rooms or other areas available to the Scientology Church for courses, auditing or recruitment. Neither have we ever tolerated those kind of activities in our rooms / in our areas.

Mr. Potthoff's statement that I belonged to the Duesseldorf ORG is also false. It is much more correct to say that I am not part of the Duesseldorf ORG, neither have I ever had any contact with it. I have never set foot in that ORG. I would not even know that the Duesseldorf ORG existed at all, and even today I am not aware of where it is located.

6. Another false assertion is that by 1985 I was well acquainted with Mrs. Adelheid Rech Gesche from the Scientology Center in Clearwater, Florida. That statement is pure conjecture. I met Mrs. Rech Gesche for the first time in Burgbrohl in 1985.

7. Another false assertion is that she had brought the entire "Helnwein Clan" on her "lines." First of all, there is no such thing as a Helnwein Clan, whatever that is supposed to mean. Furthermore, neither I nor my family

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Helnwein & Scientology, Lies & Treason by Peter Reichelt, 1997 - Page 336

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have ever been on any kind of "lines." I am an individualist and an artistic loner. Nor was there any attempt by Mrs. Rech Gesche to influence me to use my house for purposes of the Scientology Church.

8. Absolutely false and complete conjecture is the assertion: "The castle in which Helnwein lives in Burgbrohl has become a branch of the Celebrity Center in Duesseldorf ...". My castle was never a branch of any kind of organization, not Scientology nor any other kind.

9. Neither Mrs. Dr. Bardenheuer nor anybody else has taken any kind of course in my rooms at any point in time.

10. As far as the Summer Festival goes, that was supposed to be an open invitation for the inhabitants of the two villages and the acquaintances and friends of the studio to exhibit artistic works. That is all. Among the art crowd, open invitations are constantly given out for various exhibitions which are taking place at the same time in various galleries and art studios. For example: "Premiere" in Cologne, where every year a large number of galleries put on their exhibits together and invite the public without there being any kind of a connection between the galleries.

A whole lot of invitations were sent out for the Summer Festival, and of course each of those invited had the option of bringing friends and acquaintances along - whether members of the family or of the bowling league.

Mrs. Rech Gesche's written invitation to the members of her Celebrity Center took place without my knowledge and was wholly her own decision.

Only my artistic works were on exhibition at my house (Castle 2). In the other castle (Castle 1), works by artists Rudolf Kruspel Marina Kudlacek and Peter Schmitz were on display.

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Helnwein & Scientology, Lies & Treason by Peter Reichelt, 1997 - Page 337

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No kind of activity took place which had even the remotest thing to do with recruitment - either for Scientology or for any other purpose - not in the park nor in my castle.

On principle I have never done anything like that in my house and would not do that in the future. My house is and was always used exclusively as a studio and residence.

The persistently repeated assertion that there is a "clan" of painters around me is sheer fabrication by Mr. Potthoff, since it can be proved that from 1984 to today, that would be eight years, I have worked completely alone in my house in Burgbrohl and have barely had contact with other trained artists. With the exception of the three artists who have been living in my neighborhood for about two years off and on and with whom I have had only casual contact, I am not nor have I been acquainted with any other trained artists in all of Rheinland-Pfalz. I have not kept up contact with my former neighbor. I don't even know where they are staying now.

Besides my wife, there are two secretaries and three studio assistants who work here under normal work arrangements. None of these people is employed as an artist, and none of these people is or was a member of Scientology or has ever had, so far as I know, contact with Scientology.

I have not spoken a single time to my staff about Scientology.

11. Gruner & Jahr and GEO brazenly violated principles of journalism when they published this reader's letter and its gross accusations without review. And now this letter writer, Mr. Brosius, cannot even base his assertions on his own experience, because he is not acquainted with either me or my house. Therefore he is relying on Mr. Potthoff's assertions, who also does not know me, and on his latest information, which, according to what he himself said, he got seven years (!) ago from his former wife, Margit.

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Helnwein & Scientology, Lies & Treason by Peter Reichelt, 1997 - Page 338

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According to a sworn statement from his ex-wife, though, Margit Potthoff, she did not give this information allegedly about me at all. She was not in the position to do that, because outside of one or two fleeting contacts, she had not been informed about my affairs at any time.

So Gruner & Jahr relied on Brosius for his information, Brosius relied on Potthoff and Potthoff relied on alleged information from his former wife of six years ago, who did not verify his assertions in any case.

This can be looked at as a chain of second- and third-hand information which ends up going back to a conversation of two people from a shattered marriage of six or seven years ago. That is simply absurd.

I speak only rarely about my thoughts and views regarding worldview or philosophy; for one thing I don't like to tell everything I think to people, for another I have no desire to convince anybody else of anything on that subject. In my opinion, everybody should have his own view; therefore it is all the same to me what other people think.

Also, I have no office, post or function in any kind of religious society, political party or sect, no matter what kind. Furthermore no religious society, political party or sect is authorized by me to use a picture of my person, my art work, my verbal statements or written text for advertising purposes.

Burgbrohl, the 15th of May 1992

/signature/

Gottfried Helnwein

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