German Defense Minister Accused of Plagiarism
Baron Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jakob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (focus.de)
A strange case of plagiarism, involving the minister of defense, sparks in one of the most respected countries in the world for its high standards of honesty and correctness, that has even led to the creation of the phrase “German correctness.”
Thus, Professor Barbara Zehnpfennig accuses the German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg of having passed off as his own in his law doctorate thesis different passages that had been written by her in 2007.
Barbara Zehnphennig (pnp.de)
The professor expressed her astonishment at how someone could be so blatant, and demanded that the doctorate be revoked.
According to Agence France Press, who documents the whole case, zu Guttenberg, whose full name is Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jakob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr (Baron) von und zu Guttenberg, is considered by surveys the most popular German politician.
He is even considered a potential successor of incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel, having impressed as both economy and defense minister.
He is married to a direct descendent of Otto von Bismark, the famous Prussian Chancellor, whom he brought into the spotlight last year, when he took her in a visit to Afghanistan, where he was inspecting troops.
It is said that people of Germany like him because he is not a product of the Berlin political establishment, but some in the media consider him to be arrogant.
Responding to the accusation formulated by Professor Barbara Zehnpfennig and other Professors who accuse him, he said that it was absurd, but admitted that some quotations may have been wrongly handled, therefore agreeing to check whether the 1,200 footnotes of 475 pages were correctly inserted.
Anyway, the University of Bayreuth, where he completed the doctorate, is looking into the allegations, which, if proven right, could damage his reputation extensively.
In the meantime, he has already been “dubbed” by a financial newspaper in Germany as “Baron of Copy and Past.”
