Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel (German pronunciation: [deːɐ̯ ˈʃpiːɡl̩], lit. 'The Mirror', stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It has a large readership in Europe.

It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner, a British army officer, and Rudolf Augstein.

Der Spiegel is known in German-speaking countries for its investigative journalism. It has helped uncover important political stories. The news website was launched in 1994. Today, the website and the printed magazine share the same name and editorial team.

History

The first issue of Der Spiegel was published in Hanover on January 4, 1947. It started as a magazine called Diese Woche (meaning "This Week") in 1946, before becoming Der Spiegel. Rudolf Augstein was its first editor and led it until he passed away in 2002.

Over the years, Der Spiegel grew quickly. It began with just 15,000 copies and reached nearly one million readers by 1990 after German reunification. The magazine is known for its strong investigative reporting and has also created TV programs and an online version.

In 2018, the magazine had a problem when one of its reporters was found to have made up stories in many of his articles.

Reception

When Stefan Aust became the leader of the magazine in 1994, readers noticed he was different. Some politicians have had strong feelings about the magazine. For example, Franz Josef Strauss compared the magazine to a powerful force. Another leader, Willy Brandt, also showed his dislike of the magazine when he was Chancellor.

Der Spiegel is known for writing long articles about important issues in Germany. The magazine helps shape what people think about these topics and is seen as very influential in Europe.

Investigative journalism

Der Spiegel is known for uncovering important political secrets and scandals. It started this work in 1950 when it said some government members took bribes to choose Bonn instead of Frankfurt as the capital.

In 1962, the magazine reported that Germany’s armed forces were not fully ready. This caused a big problem, called the Spiegel scandal, when police raided their offices and arrested the editors. The case fell apart, and this led to changes in the government.

Der Spiegel has kept reporting on important issues. In 2010, it helped publish secret materials from the United States government. In 2013, it showed that the United States was listening in on the private phone of Germany’s leader. In 2023, it worked with many news groups around the world to report on money matters connected to a leader of Russia, which led to calls for changes.

Fake news scandals

Der Spiegel has had some problems for sharing stories that were not true.

In December 2018, a reporter named Claas Relotius admitted that he made up facts, people, and quotes in some of his stories. The magazine found out after another writer noticed something was wrong. Relotius left the magazine.

In 2019, a court told Der Spiegel to remove some claims from an article.

In 2022, Der Spiegel shared stories about a girl who died at a border. But later, they had to take these stories back because they were not true.

Bans

In January 1978, the office of Der Spiegel in East Berlin was closed by the East German government. This happened because the magazine published articles that were not approved by the government. Later, in April 2008, a special edition of the magazine about Islam was not allowed to be sold in Egypt. The leaders of Egypt said the magazine had material they thought was not respectful toward Islam and Muhammed.

Head office

Der Spiegel began using its current head office in HafenCity in September 2011. The building was designed by Henning Larsen Architects from Denmark. Before that, the magazine’s offices were in a tall building with space for workers.

Editors-in-chief

The magazine Der Spiegel has had many leaders over the years. Some of the people who led it include:

• 1962–1968: Claus Jacobi
• 1968–1973: Günter Gaus
• 1973–1986: Erich Böhme and Johannes K. Engel
• 1986–1989: Erich Böhme and Werner Funk
• 1989–1994: Hans Werner Kilz and Wolfgang Kaden
• 1994–2008: Stefan Aust
• 2008–2011: Mathias Müller von Blumencron and Georg Mascolo
• 2011–2013: Georg Mascolo
• 2013–2014: Wolfgang Büchner
• 13 January 2015 – 15 October 2018: Klaus Brinkbäumer
• 1 January 2019: Steffen Klusmann and Barbara Hans
• 25 May 2023: Dirk Kurbjuweit