Biographical data Jürgen Grässlin



Curriculum Vitae Jürgen Grässlin

[Long version]

Speaker positions and memberships: As long-standing federal spokesperson of the German »Peace Society - United War Opponents« / DFG-VK (c.f. www.dfg-vk.de) and as long-standing Chairman of the »ArmsInformationCentre« / »RüstungsInformationsBüro«, RIB e.V. (see www.rib-ev.de), he has been actively advocating for concrete steps towards disarmament.
Grässlin is a member of »Amnesty International«, the labour unions »GEW« and »ver.di«, the »German Writers' Association« and the »German Association of Specialized Journalists«, i.a..

Co-founder of numerous disarmament initiatives: Including such as »We are not buying a Mercedes: boycott arms exports« and the »Waldkirch Declaration: Stop Arms Exports«.
Since 2011 he has been the founder and campaign spokesperson of the »Outcry Campaign to Stop the Arms Trade« (c.f. www.aufschrei-waffenhandel.de). This campaign is comprised of a leading support-circle of 16 peace organizations and includes over 100 member organizations in a broad alliance. The campaign demands, i.a., a change in the formulation of article 26(2) of the German Basic Law, which should state, »The export of weapons and armaments is generally prohibited.« Borders must be closed to arms exports and opened to refugees.
In February of 2018 Grässlin, along with his colleagues at the »ArmsInformationCentre« (RIB e.V.) and other peace organizations, founded the »Critical Shareholders H&K«. In April 2018 he also co-founded the »GLOBAL NET – STOP THE ARMS TRADE«, GN-STAT, which publishes research on arms exports in multiple languages (c.f. www.gn-stat.org).

Bestselling author: Since 1994 Grässlin has written a large number of critical non-fiction books on arms exports as well as military and economic policy. He has repeatedly traveled to Somalia, Kenya, Turkey and Turkish Kurdistan, where he interviewed more than 200 people affected by the use of German weapons. From the proceeds of the lecture tours with his book »Duck When They Shoot« (»Versteck dich wenn sie schießen«, 2003) about the victims of Heckler & Koch weapons, he founded the fund of the »German Action Network to Stop Small Arms« (DAKS).
His biography of the Daimler chairman »Jürgen Schrempp and the Making of an Auto Dynasty – The Story of the Man behind DaimlerChrysler« (»Jürgen E. Schrempp. Der Herr der Sterne«) has been translated into English, Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese and has become an international bestseller. In 2006, his work »The Daimler Disaster« (»Das Daimler-Desaster«) topped all four German economic bestseller lists. In his book »Run into the Ground? The Daimler-Disaster Continues« (»Abgewirtschaftet?! Das Daimler-Desaster geht weiter«, 2007), Grässlin published confidential Daimler documents on gray market transactions and the »armaments disaster« of the company Daimler-EADS.
In 2013 book his »Arms Trade Revelations. How Germany makes money from war« (»Schwarzbuch Waffenhandel. Wie Deutschland am Krieg verdient«) was published. The book caused an immense uproar. Featured at over 200 readings, it has been in great demand. In 2014 his article »Millions? Yes, Millions of Victims of German Gun Exports« (»Millionen? Ja, Millionen Opfer deutscher Gewehrexporte«) was published in the book »There’s Another Way! Food for Thought for Political Alternatives« (»Es geht anders! Neue Denkanstöße für politische Alternativen«). Moreover, in 2015, the book »Network of Death. How Criminal Networks infiltrate the Arms Industry and State Bureaucracies« (»Netzwerk des Todes. Die kriminellen Verflechtungen von Waffenindustrie und Behörden«) by Jürgen Grässlin, Daniel M. Harrich and Danuta Harrich-Zandberg came out.
Further contributions to books have followed and are going to continue to follow. After the consolidation of the GLOBAL NET - STOP THE ARMS TRADE a work on the global arms trade is planned.

Victories in legal disputes: The decades-long attempts by armaments and automobile companies to silence Grässlin in his criticism of the companies failed. In most cases, Grässlin was represented by the Tübingen lawyer Holger Rothbauer. The attempt by Daimler CEO Jürgen E. Schrempp to legally prohibit Grässlin's criticism failed in 2009 at the Federal Supreme Court in Karlsruhe. This ruling has since been regarded as a precedent in cases relating to freedom of opinion and freedom of the press.

Successful criminal complaints filed by Grässlin: In April 2010, Grässlin filed a criminal complaint via his attorney Rothbauer against the small arms manufacturer and exporter Heckler & Koch for illegal G36 rifle deliveries to prohibited provinces of conflict in Mexico. The Stuttgart public prosecutor's office investigated, carried out two searches at H&K, and filed charges. Grässlin extended his criminal complaint twice. Once, in December of 2013 to include further actors and for the second time in February of 2014 as more gun deliveries to Mexico came to light. Moreover, he filed a new criminal complaint adding the allegation of illegal technology transfers/licensing (G36/FX05).
On the basis of his criminal complaint, the Stuttgart Regional Court sentenced two former H&K managers to suspended prison terms and the company to a fine of 3 million euros in February of 2019 (the appeal is pending before the Federal Supreme Court).
In February 2014, Grässlin and Paul Russmann also successfully filed a criminal complaint against the small arms producer and exporter SIG Sauer (Germany and USA) for the »Action Outcry - Stop the Arms Trade« for the illegal export of about 38,000 pistols to the civil war in Colombia. Following the export ban subsequently imposed by the arms export control authorities, Sig Sauer was forced to cease producing war weapons in Germany in 2015 and close the arms factory in Eckernförde by the end of 2020.
In April 2019, three leading SIG Sauer managers from Germany and the USA were sentenced to suspended prison sentences and fines by the Kiel Regional Court; this sentence is final. (The company’s appeal against the fine of EUR 11 million is still pending at the Federal Supreme Court).
In 2020, the Action Outcry Campaign, represented by attorney Holger Rothbauer, again filed criminal charges against the armaments company SIG Sauer - this time for illegal arms deliveries to Mexico, Nicaragua and, again, Colombia. The charges are based on the suspicion of violation of the War Weapons Control Act as well as repeated commercial and gang-like violations of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act. Jürgen Grässlin, Christine Hoffmann and Charlotte Kehne are the complainants.

Biographical TV documentaries: Biographical TV documentaries about J. Grässlin have been broadcast on multiple German public TV stations. Productions include: »One against Daimler« (»Einer gegen Daimler«, 1998) by Sigrid Faltin and Peter Ohlendorf, »The G3 in the Firing Line« (»Das G3 im Visier«, 2004) by Peter Ohlendorf and »Alone Against the Arms Industry – Jürgen Grässlin’s Struggle« (»Allein gegen die Waffenindustrie - Der Kampf des Jürgen Grässlin«, 2009) by Katja Duregger. The film focuses on Germany's most deadly company, Heckler & Koch, in addition to the fight against Daimler/EADS. The reporter Sonja Heizmann reported in a radio feature on the station Deutschlandradio Kultur in 2010 about the »Fight Without Weapons. The Anti-Arms Activist Jürgen Grässlin« (»Kampf ohne Waffen. Der Rüstungsgegner Jürgen Grässlin«).
He has also participated in multiple TV programs and political magazines. Numerous film reports have featured his contributions and interviews.

»Masters of Death-1« and other films: Grässlin supported the film project »Masters of Death« (»Meister des Todes«) by director Daniel Harrich as a specialist consultant. In the fictional film, August Zirner plays the complainant in the case of an illegal arms deal with Mexico. The feature film was broadcast on September 23, 2015, as part of a theme evening against arms exports on the German public TV station ARD, as was the TV documentary »Deadly Exports - How the G36 came to Mexico« (»Tödliche Exporte – Wie das G36 nach Mexiko kam«, ARD) and »Weapons for the Drug War« (»Waffen für den Drogenkrieg«, SWR). In the meantime, more than 14 million people have seen the feature film on television.
Grässlin also contributed to Wolfgang Landgraeber's film »Making a Killing« (»Vom Töten Leben«, WDR 2016 / 90 and 60 min.). In summer 2017 Steve Müller from the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg dedicated the short film »Mr. Grässlin« (»Herr Grässlin«) to him.
»Meister des Todes 2« (»Masters of Death 2« ): On April 1, 2020 the Public broadcaster Das Erste/ARD in Germany broadcast the theme evening »Master of Death 2«. The feature film and the TV-documentary »Deadly Exports – Arms Industry Leaders in the Dock« (»Rüstungsmanager vor Gericht«) are based on the criminal charges against H&K due to the illegal G36-gun exports and advice by Grässlin as well as the criminal proceedings. The TV broadcasts on the stations ARD, ONE, arte, phoenix, BR and SWR have reached more than eight million viewers to date.

GLOBAL NET - STOP THE ARMS TRADE: In April 2018 he initiated the establishment of the GLOBAL NET - STOP THE ARMS TRADE and he coordinates the GN-STAT (c.f. www.gn-stat.org), which publishes particularly serious cases from the world of the international arms trade in several world languages. Already published are CASE 01: Armenian genocide, CASE 02: Illegal G36 exports to Mexico, CASE 03: Israel's arms exports to crisis and war zones, CASE 04: illegal pistol exports by SIG Sauer to Colombia and CASE 05: Worldwide corruption of »Leonardo« in Italy. The »Critical Business Chronicle« of the globally operating small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, written by Grässlin, was published in several world languages in April 2020. H&K is - measured by the number of victims - Europe's most deadly company.
CASE 06: Border Security/Deadly Walls around the World will be published in several parts in summer/autumn 2020, CASE 06: Child Soldiers in Africa, Asia and Latin America in winter 2020/2021.

GN-STAT - CULTURE FOR PEACE: In autumn 2020 the GLOBAL NET is going to publish its first list of arms-critical films from all over the world, compiled Wolfgang Landgraeber under the project title GN-STAT-FILMS. Many more GN-FILMS will follow. In 2020 too Grässlin and Ruth Rohde will release the GN-STAT-MUSIC project at GLOBAL NET - STOP THE ARMS TRADE. Patrons of the project, which collects more than 150 peace and protest songs as well as songs critical of armaments and anti-war songs, will be renowned musicians from all over the world.

Prizes for civil courage, peace, media and human rights: Grässlin's commitment has been honored with numerous prizes, including the »Prize for Civil Courage« of the Solbach-Freise Foundation (2009), the »Aachen Peace Prize« (2011), the »Stuttgart Peace Prize« (2012 for Action Outcry), the »Kirchheimbolanden Peace Prize« (2014), the »AMOS Prize« of the Open Church of Württemberg (2015) and the »Helga und Werner Sprenger Peace Prize« (2015).
In 2016 Grässlin was honored three times: In April he received the »GRIMME Media Award« for the ARD theme evening on the illegal arms trade of H&K with Mexico as a criminal prosecutor and expert advisor in the team of filmmaker Daniel Harrich; in October he was awarded the »Honorary Doctorate (honoris causa / h.c.)« of the »Università del Bene Comune« near Verona (valid in Italy) and in December the »Stuttgart Peace Prize« as an individual.
For his research on Daniel Harrich’s film »Masters of Death« (»Meister des Todes«), the Freiburg native was awarded the renowned »Marler Media Prize for Human Rights« (»Marler Medienpreis Menschenrechte«) by Amnesty International in 2017. In 2018 he was nominated for the Television Academy Award in Berlin.

Lectures, national and international: In the past three and a half decades, Grässlin has given more than 3800 lectures, book presentations and speeches on the topic of arms trade/arms exports alone. Numerous other lectures have included or continue to include questions of corporate and military policy as well as concrete approaches for a world without weapons and the culture of peace.

Contact:
phone: 0049-761-7678208, mob.: 0049-170-6113759
email: jg@rib-ev.de, graesslin@dfg-vk.de

More information:
see www.gn-stat.org, www.rib-ev.de, www.aufschrei-waffenhandel.de, www.dfg-vk.de and www.juergengraesslin.com


[Curriculum Vitae medium-long version]

Jürgen Grässlin
is a spokesperson of the campaign »Action Outcry – Stop the Arms Trade«, federal spokesman of the »German Peace Society – United War Opponents« (DFG-VK), spokesman of the Critical Shareholders Daimler (KAD), co-founder of the Critical Shareholders Heckler & Koch (KA H&K) and chairman of the ArmsInformationCentre (RIB e.V.).
In 2018 Grässlin co-founded the GLOBAL NET - STOP THE ARMS TRADE (GN-STAT) at RIB e.V. as a worldwide network against arms trade, which researches arms export scandals and publishes them in several world languages.
He is the author of numerous critical non-fiction books on arms exports and military and economic policy, including international bestsellers. Most recently, he wrote the »Arms Trade Revelations. How Germany makes money from war« (»Schwarzbuch Waffenhandel. Wie Deutschland am Krieg verdient«) and the »Networks of Death. Criminal Networks in Arms Industry and State Bureaucracies« (»Netzwerk des Todes. Die kriminalen Verflechtungen von Waffenindustrie und Behörden«), on which he did more than 250 readings.
Grässlin has been awarded ten prizes for peace, civil courage, media work and human rights, including the »Aachen Peace Price« and the »Stuttgart Peace Price«. He received the symbolic honorary doctorate (Dottore honoris causa / h.c.) from the Università del bene comune in Sezano near Verona. Most recently he was honored with the »GRIMME Media Prize« and the »Marler Media Prize for Human Rights« from Amnesty International.

Contact:
phone: 0049-761-7678208, mob.: 0049-170-6113759
email: jg@rib-ev.de, graesslin@dfg-vk.de

More information
see www.gn-stat.org, www.rib-ev.de, www.aufschrei-waffenhandel.de, www.dfg-vk.de and www.juergengraesslin.com


[Curriculum Vitae short version]

Jürgen Grässlin
is Director of the ArmsInformationCentre, spokesman of several peace organizations like the German Peace Society (DFG-VK) and of the campaign »Action Outcry – Stop the Arms Exports!«. In 2018 he founded the GLOBAL NET – STOP THE ARMS TRADE. He was honoured with ten prizes for peace, civil courage, human rights and media reports.

Contact:
phone: 0049-761-7678208, mob.: 0049-170-6113759
email: jg@rib-ev.de, graesslin@dfg-vk.de

More information
see www.gn-stat.org, www.rib-ev.de, www.aufschrei-waffenhandel.de, www.dfg-vk.de and www.juergengraesslin.com