Trials and Loyalties

Next week will see Siegfried Mauser‘s appeal proceedings at the German Federal Supreme Court, of which a final judgment on his sentence in several cases of sexual misconduct is expected. Just ahead of this decision, publisher Königshausen & Neumann has pre-announced a commemorative volume to Mauser’s 65th birthday, co-edited by two close friends of his, Dieter Borchmeyer and Susanne Popp. Given that the preparation of this volume might have begun well before the time when Mauser’s offences were revealed to the public, it is unclear if the publication is intended as a sort of exculpation, or if the extensive list of contributors should be read as a list of Mauser’s partisans. In any case, publishing an article or composition in such a volume can be considered a supportive act, or at least a failure to distance oneself from the dedicatee as a public figure. Social media and blogs have begun covering the issue, including Alexander Strauch‘s thoughts on the possible purposes of the publication and an impudent rant by Theo Geißler, reviling Helmut Lachenmann, Manfred Trojahn, Wolfgang Riehm (sic!) and other contributors as »groping buddies«. A more deliberate assessment of the Festschrift and its scholarly value seems desirable, ideally in the shape of a proper review, once it is published.