Rammstein listed on the Index?
In the past few weeks all Rammstein albums were on the verge of being listed to the Censorship Index and as a consequence further sales of the albums would have been stopped.
This summer, a worried Kreisjugendpfleger (“district youth guardian”) applied at the Federal Inspection Unit to have all Rammstein albums indexed as so-called “youth-endangering media”. After negotiations, this action has ceased as of the 10th of October. Fortunately, a review board composed of representatives from the state authorities, youth welfare services, tutors, church and religious groups, and book distributors and publishers did NOT subscribe to the view of the applicant that Rammstein lyrics were obscene, violence-glorifying, or sexually humiliating.
Enquadramento histórico:
"In May of 1949, the German Grundgesetz, the new constitution, was passed and control of West Germany passed officially into German hands. Article 5 contains a section protecting the freedom of expression:
Everyone has the right to free express and disseminate his opinion in word, print, and image, and to educate himself, unhindered, through any source. [...] Censorship will not take place.
However, there is a limiting provision:
The limits of this right are found [...] at the legal designation of the protection of youth and the right of personal integrity.
This provision enabled the creation of the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien, or the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons. The Department is responsible for maintaining the Index of Harmful Materials. Materials on the Index are severely restricted in their sale and distribution: they cannot be sold by mail, and many materials can only be sold "under the counter". While their advertisement and marketing is censored in general, these media itself are not.
Items on the index include pornography, graphic media which glorify war and violence, materials considered to be anti-constitutional (such as the writings of the Red Army Faction), and material likely or intended to induce hate."
in Wikipedia
