The author and the state - Germany's Bill of Rights in the shadow of the past

This article considers the state of the law in Germany in relation to state power to criticise an author's published commentary. It considers the constitutional protection of an author against a government body, doing so through the examination of a decision of the German Constitutional Court. Can an author complain on constitutional grounds when his work is withdrawn from circulation by the publisher acting in concert with a government body? How far can the publisher and government go in explaining to the public the course they have taken? Can their explanation in itself provide cause for constitutional complaint? In the case in question, the subject of the author's commentary was the German-Jewish relationship during the Hitler period and the commentary itself aroused considerable hostility. The Court had the task of delivering a reasoned judgment on the basis of accepted constitutional principles and without participating in the emotions raised by the case.