Der Spiegel (Spiegel)

Main article: Media in Europe

1962: Arrest of the editor-in-chief for an article on the failed exercises of the Bundeswehr and NATO forces and becoming the leader of Germany's weeklies

October 10, 1962 "Spiegel" publishes a multi-page title article "Relatively combat-ready," dedicated to the results of joint training maneuvers of the Bundeswehr and NATO troops. The authors state the poor training of the German army and publish data confirming this. Criticism is directly addressed to the Minister of Defense in the government of Konrad Adenauer - Franz Joseph Strauss, material for the article was provided by Colonel of the General Staff Albert Martin.

At the tacit insistence of Strauss against the authors, the editorial board and Martin himself, a case of high treason is initiated, several people are arrested. The editorial office of Spiegel has been searched for a month, the magazine employees work in the premises provided to them by other newspapers out of solidarity. The editor-in-chief of Spiegel, Rudolf Augstein, is also under arrest for three months.

The case of the magazine "Spiegel" causes - unexpectedly for everyone - a protest of people, in principle apolitical. In the center of Hamburg, 4,000 people go to the demonstration. After the protests, journalists are released, the investigation continues until 1965 - and ends with a refusal to initiate a criminal case.

The parliamentary scandal forces Strauss to leave the post of Minister of Defense, after which Adenauer's cabinet disintegrates.

Rudolf Augstein turns into the most famous journalist in Germany in three months in prison - and remains him until his death in 2002. From the same moment, "Spiegel" becomes a weekly that has no competitors either in circulation or in revenue.