Erich Lüth (born 1 February 1902 in

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

, died 1 April 1989) was a German writer and film director.

Career

Lüth began his career in 1923 as an intern in the editorial staff of the Hamburger Ullstein Verlag Berlin his education. Subsequently, he was editor of the '' Hamburger Anzeiger'' and chairman of the Hamburg Young Democrats. In 1928 he was the DDP member of the

Hamburg Parliament The Hamburg Parliament (german: Hamburgische Bürgerschaft; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry”) is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2011 there were 121 members in the parli ...

. In addition, Lüth was a member of the

German Peace Society The German Peace Society (german: Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft (DFG)) was founded in 1892 in Berlin. In 1900 it moved its headquarters to Stuttgart. It still exists and is known as the ''Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft - Vereinigte Kriegsdienstgegne ...

and was active in his party's pacifist wing and fell within the Young Democrats and the DDP on the basis of a call for military service in 1929. In spring 1930 Lüth left the DDP and in the same year joined the inaugural Radical Democratic Party (RDP). From 1933 to 1935 Lüth managed a trade association. In 1943, Lüth was drafted as a soldier and was captured, becoming a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

in Italy. During his imprisonment, he was editor of the POW camp newspaper, "Lagerpost von Ghedi" until his release in 1946. He joined the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

and became Director of the National Press Office in Hamburg until 1953 and then again from 1957 until his retirement in 1964. From 1953 to 1957, Lüth was head of the Press Division of the German Theatre Association. He was founder and chairman of the

Press club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

in Hamburg, and co-founded the " Society of Friends of Franco-German intellectual relations "and also the initiator of the Peace with Israel, which merged with the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation in autumn 1952. Luth is the author of numerous books on

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and participated in peace talks between Germany and Israel in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1984 he was awarded the Mayor Stolten Medal by the Hamburg Senate.

Veit Harlan

His name is known today mainly in connection with a legal case from 1950, whose background Lüth's boycott against the film ''Immortal Beloved'', based on the novel ''Aquis submersus'' by

Theodor Storm Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (; 14 September 18174 July 1888), commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German writer. He is considered to be one of the most important figures of German realism. Life Storm was born in the small town of Husum, on th ...

. In 1951,

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film ''Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial ...

sued for an injunction against Lüth for publicly calling for a boycott of ''Unsterbliche Geliebte''(''Immortal Beloved''). The District Court in Hamburg granted Harlan's suit and ordered that Lüth forbear from making such public appeals. However, the lower court decision was ultimately overturned in 1958 by the

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...

because it infringed on Lüth's right to

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. This was a landmark decision because it clarified the importance of the constitutional civil rights in disputes between individuals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luth, Erich 1902 births 1989 deaths Writers from Hamburg German Democratic Party politicians Radical Democratic Party (Germany) politicians Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians German Peace Society members