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The German weekly newspaper "Junge Freiheit" recently celebrated
its 40th anniversary and can look back on an eventful history.

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It was founded in 1986 by Dieter Stein, then an
18-year-old high school student, near Freiburg.

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The first edition, titled "Make Way for
Freedom!," was only 8 pages long, and the founder

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personally delivered all 400 copies by bicycle.

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Without major sponsors, he fought his way through the
difficult early days alongside other idealistic colleagues.

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In 1993, they moved to Berlin.

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Starting in 1994, the JF began publishing weekly
for the first time and saw a steady increase in its

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subscription circulation through the early 2020s.

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The newspaper is now backed by a publishing company with 60
employees, and in addition to its print circulation—which

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has also grown significantly in size—it has a rapidly expanding
online presence with 869,000 followers on social media.

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From the very beginning, *Junge Freiheit* has had a
liberal-conservative profile and has covered topics such as mass

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migration, the protection of life, Germany’s demographic decline,
the destruction of the family, criticism of the EU and the euro,

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the restoration of a healthy sense of national
consciousness, a positive national identity, and a

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sensible approach to the country’s own history.

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Since JF consistently found interesting interview
subjects in its early days, its popularity grew rapidly.

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With its editorial stance, the newspaper positioned itself
against the prevailing zeitgeist, thereby making enemies who took

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increasingly aggressive and violent action against the paper.

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In the early 1990s, for example, 160 Antifa groups
across Germany used threatening letters to pressure newsstand

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owners into removing the newspaper from their selection.

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Where threats failed to have an effect, newsstands were stormed
and copies of the JF and other newspapers on display

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were torn up, or the locks on the newsstands were
clogged with clay so that their owners could not open them.

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In October 1994, subscribers' addresses were
stolen from the printing plant at gunpoint.

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These were subsequently published in
radical left-wing publications, and this led

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to a crackdown on the newspaper's readers.

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But that wasn't the end of it!

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Two months later, left-wing terrorists—who called
themselves "revolutionary lesbian women's groups"—carried

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out an arson attack on the printing plant in Weimar.

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Most of the machinery was destroyed,
resulting in property damage amounting to millions.

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The printing company subsequently
terminated its contract with JF without notice.

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However, there was no outcry in the German media.

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If at all, the vast majority of media outlets
reported on the attack with only a few lines.

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After that, the terror continued unabated.

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In early 1995, the office's phone line was cut, smoke grenades
were thrown into the office, and the car

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belonging to the newspaper's founder and
editor-in-chief, Dieter Stein, was set on fire.

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Dieter Stein and his team deserve great credit for not
backing down in the face of these threats to their lives and

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safety, but instead saying to themselves, “Now more than ever!”

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After failing to succeed through brute
force, the JF's enemies changed their strategy.

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In 1995, the North Rhine-Westphalia Office
for the Protection of the Constitution began

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monitoring the JF and included it in its report.

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This posed major challenges for the newspaper, as it not only
deterred readers but also made advertisers wary of placing ads in

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the JF for fear of suffering negative consequences themselves.

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Advertisements that the JF had intended to place in other media
to attract new subscribers were also rejected on the

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grounds that the organization was under surveillance
by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

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As a result, the JF had to defend itself in court and, after a
ten-year legal battle, won its case against

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the Office for the Protection of the
Constitution before the Federal Constitutional Court.

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This ruling was a major milestone
for freedom of the press in Germany.

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In an interview, Dieter Stein analyzed the attack by the
Office for the Protection of the Constitution as follows:

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"From the authorities’ perspective, it was seen as problematic
that *Junge Freiheit* reported extensively on the Republicans .

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At the same time, we interviewed not only representatives
of the Republican Party but also politicians from the Union.

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In the eyes of the constitutional protection
authorities, we broke a quarantine that had also

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been declared by the Republicans in the media.

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An attempt that was later made by the AfD as well,
but failed due to the evolution of social media.

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Under the circumstances at the time, things were different.

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The Internet has not yet played a role.

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Coverage was provided exclusively by
public media and traditional print media.

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Back then, it was also possible to
control—through unspoken agreements—who would be the focus of

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coverage: who would be featured and who would not.

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"Junge Freiheit was practically a blockade-breaker."

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This example shows just how crucial the pioneering work of *Junge
Freiheit* was, especially at a time when many

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independent educators did not yet have access
to the internet for their educational efforts.

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*Junge Freiheit* has maintained its status as a maverick, has
remained a thorn in the side of the establishment, has repeatedly

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exposed abuses, and has learned to defend itself against attacks.

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Take 2006, for example, when she was denied permission to
participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair for political reasons.

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After more than 1,500 citizens and prominent representatives from
the media, politics, academia, and civil society joined forces in

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an “Appeal for Freedom of the Press,” the trade show organizers
were forced to back down and allow their participation.

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In 2022, the JF launched an offensive against mandatory
broadcasting fees and initiated a petition

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calling for the abolition of broadcasting fees
and a fundamental reform of public broadcasting.

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It was signed by 200,000 citizens.

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The following year, Editor-in-Chief Dieter Stein
appeared as an expert witness on the State

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Broadcasting Treaty before five state legislatures.

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Investigative journalism also
continued to make its mark time and again.

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The JF uncovered links between politicians and the far-left
scene, for example, in 2007 with Franziska

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Drohsel, then chairwoman of the Juso, and in 2022
with Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.

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In 2024, the JF reported on a draft proposal by
the Berlin Senate that called for the

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establishment of "sex rooms" for children aged three to six.

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Following the media coverage, the plans were withdrawn.

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In 2026, the JF revealed that far-left NGO employees had
shown homosexual pornographic material at a school in Saxony.

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The media coverage sparked a storm of controversy,
prompting the principal to halt the program and forcing both the

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Saxon state parliament and the Bundestag to address the issue.

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All of this has been possible because *Junge Freiheit*
has maintained its independence and is supported not by

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major sponsors, but primarily by its readers and supporters.

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Kla.TV also offers its congratulations on 40 years of successfully
fighting for freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

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They have shown what is possible when you have a
vision and pursue it with total dedication and passion.

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We wish *Junge Freiheit* all the best for the future, that it may
continue to speak out boldly, independently, and

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fearlessly against the injustices in Germany,
and that every attack will only make it stronger.

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To conclude the program, here are some excerpts from
the messages of congratulations that *Junge

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Freiheit* published in its special anniversary supplement.

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Helmut Markwort : A Heroic Deed

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I am impressed by *Junge Freiheit* both for its
independent stance and for the story of its founding.

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The fact that 18-year-old high school student Dieter Stein built
up a full-fledged weekly newspaper with all the

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traditional sections over the course of these forty years
is one of the great achievements of German journalism.

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It has not only broadened the diversity of
opinions, but above all, the diversity of information

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Heinrich Sickl : Persistent and steadfast

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*Junge Freiheit* has established itself in the German-speaking
world as an indispensable civic and conservative

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voice—uncompromising, persistent, and steadfast in
the face of pressure from a mainstream that often

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prefers to avoid genuine debates rather than allow them.

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Jan Fleischhauer : Held out bravely

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If you look around the German media landscape, *Junge
Freiheit* is clearly one of the endangered minorities.

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The others really went to great
lengths to sweep the JF off the field.

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No trick was left out—not even a dirty one.

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But the editorial staff held out bravely for 40 years.

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That alone is worth a big congratulations!

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Peter Hahne : With the Slingshot
Forty Years and Still Going Strong!

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A sheet that's horizontal without being queer.

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At odds with the mainstream of the tax-subsidized,
uniform media—the darlings of those (still) in power.

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JF stands for "Leuchtfeuer." JF stands for reliable quality

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The highest honor is a loyal readership.

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Roger Köppel : A significant contribution to diversity of opinion

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When you started out, conservatism was at an all-time low.

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Today, we are witnessing a return to
the tried-and-true and the reliable.

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They were ahead of their time.

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I look forward to future issues of your publication,
which I read with pleasure and find very informative.

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