Tilman Zülch (; 2 September 193917 March 2023) was a German human rights activist. He was the founder and general secretary of the

Society for Threatened Peoples The Society for Threatened Peoples International STPI (german: Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker-International, GfbV-International) is an international NGO and human rights organization with its headquarters in Göttingen, Germany. Its aim is ...

(STP).

Biography

Zülch was born in Liebau, in the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

, now Libina, Czech Republic. His family left the Sudetenland in 1945, during the postwar expulsion of Germans. As a boy he belonged to the Bündische Jugend, part of the

German Youth Movement The German Youth Movement (german: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement ...

, in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He completed his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' at the

Louisenlund Stiftung Louisenlund is a privately run boarding school for boys and girls in Güby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History The school's main building is in Louisenlund Castle, which was built by Hermann von Motz between 1772 and 1776 for Prince C ...

Gymnasium in

Rendsburg-Eckernförde Rendsburg-Eckernförde (; da, Rendsborg-Egernførde) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Kiel, the district of Plön (district), Plön, the city of Neumünster, the districts of ...

. He studied politics and economics in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. He was active in college political groups and the ''

Außerparlamentarische Opposition The Außerparlamentarische Opposition (German for ''extra-parliamentary opposition'', commonly known as the APO), was a political protest movement in West Germany during the latter half of the 1960s and early 1970s, forming a central part of the G ...

''. In June 1968, with Klaus Guerke, he founded ''Aktion: Biafra Hilfe'' to draw the attention of the world to the

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

happening in

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...

, in present-day

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The

(german: link=no, Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker) grew out of this organization in 1970. Its main office has been located in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

since 1979. , its German branch, GfbV-Deutschland, is one of the largest human rights organizations in Germany. Zülch felt that it is an obligation to campaign for religiously and ethnically persecuted people, especially for Germany and Austria given the crimes of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He felt that the way for Germans to deal with the past is not to stay silent in face of other crimes such as those of the

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

era, the mass expulsions of Germans after 1945, or the genocides of today. For example, in the early 1990s he was fined for breaking into a

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civi ...

warehouse in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

to secure evidence of the company's covertly supplying the Iraqi air force; he repeatedly protested Russia's military actions in

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, comparing the bombing of

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

to Dresden in 1945; in 2005 in advance of the official visit of German Chancellor

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ...

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

(formerly Königsberg,

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

) to celebrate the city's 750th anniversary, he demanded in an open letter that Schröder note the mass expulsions and deaths of Germans there and elsewhere in the former eastern territories of Germany under Stalin; he protested the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in China on behalf of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, comparing it to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin under the Nazis; and he has been credited as one of those most responsible for the

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

being recognized as a minority people in Germany. He was also the editor of the journal ''bedrohte völker'' (previously ''pogrom''). Zülch died on 17 March 2023, at the age of 83.

Awards and honors

* GeoEnvironment Prize 1982 * Niedersachsenpreis for Journalism 1996 * Silver Order of the Arms of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1996 * Annual Award of the Federation of Expulsees 2001 *

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

am Bande 2002 * Human Rights Prize of the Sudeten Germans Welfare and Culture Association 2003 * Göttingen Peace Prize in recognition of his lifetime work 2003 * Medal of the Iraqi-Kurdish National Assembly 2005 * Srebrenica Award against Genocide of the three women's and mothers' associations 2006 * Sarajevo Anti-War Centre's Freedom Prize for Human Rights 2006 * Human Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma 2014 * Honorary citizenship, City of Sarajevo * Honorary Member of the Saxony-Anhalt Federation of the Victims of Stalinist Persecution * Honorary Member of the Union of Women camp Detainees of Bosnia Herzegovina * Member of the Jury for the Weimar Human Rights Prize * Member of the Jury of the "Centre Against Expulsions" Supporters Association

Publications

(All available only in German) * Guerke, Klaus and Tilman Zülch. 1968. ''Biafra, Todesurteil für ein Volk?'' Berlin: Luttner-Verlang. :Biafra, Death sentence for a People * Zülch, Tilman. 1979a. ''Von denen keiner spricht. Verfolgte Minderheiten''. Reinbek: Rowohlt. :The People That No-one Talks About: Persecuted Minorities * Zülch, Tilman. 1979b. ''In Auschwitz vergast, bis heute verfolgt – zur Situation der Sinti und Roma in Europa''. Reinbek: Rowohlt. :Gassed in Auschwitz, still persecuted today – on the situation of the Sinti and Roma in Europe * Zülch, Tilman. 1991. ''Völkermord an den Kurden''. Hamburg: Luchtehand. :Genocide of the Kurds * Zülch, Tilman. 1993. ''Ethnische Säuberungen" – Völkermord für Großserbien''. Hamburg: Luchterhand. Sarajevo 1996. :Ethnic Cleansing – Genocide in the cause of Greater Serbia * Vollmer, Johannes and Tilman Zülch. 1996. ''Aufstand der Opfer – Verratene Völker zwischen Hitler und Stalin''. Göttingen: pogrom Taschenbücher. :Resistance of the Victims – Betrayed peoples between Hitler and Stalin

References

External links

"Wo endet das Morden? Warum schauen deutsche Intellektuelle bei Völkermord weg?"
Interview with Arno Luik. ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', 1 January 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zulch, Tilman 1939 births 2023 deaths Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Šumperk District Moravian-German people German people of Moravian-German descent