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Franziska Giffey in March in Berlin
Photo: Annette Riedl / AFP
It all started in February 2019
when the first reports of plagiarism allegations against Franziska Giffey appeared: "Wikipedia instead of Habermas" is the headline of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", Franz Josef Wagner writes in the "Bild" newspaper to the SPD politician: " Your doctoral thesis is suspected of plagiarism - and you are on the verge of shame.
Although nothing has been proven, suspicion clings to you like a bad smell «.
The »Tagesspiegel« asks: »How dangerous are the plagiarism allegations for Giffey?«.
This question can now be answered after more than two years and an examination procedure that itself became a case for experts: Giffey is stepping down as family minister because of the never-ending affair.
"I still stand by my statement that I have written my work to the best of my knowledge and belief," said Giffey.
So she defended herself in February 2019.
Now she also said: "I am sorry if I made mistakes." What has happened in the meantime?
At the time, Giffey asked the FU in Berlin to review the dissertation.
She had submitted the work entitled »Europe's Way to Citizens« in October 2009 to the Otto Suhr Institute of the university and stated on page 4 that she »indicated all the tools and aids used and based this on the present work independently« as the »Süddeutsche Zeitung« reported at the time.
In the doctoral report, the first reviewer, political scientist Tanja Börzel, praised the work as "extremely knowledgeable", "original" and attested it "considerable added value for the political (...) debate". The second reviewer is more cautious with praise, finds some results “not surprising” and criticizes the lack of “analytical structuring” in places. However, he agrees with the judgment of his colleague, as "Die Zeit" reports. In 2010 Giffey received his doctorate with "magna cum laude", the second best grade.
Whether the work really deserves great praise remains questionable: Giffey examines how the citizens of Neukölln can participate in EU politics. And with this topic she kills two birds with one stone: because while she is writing her dissertation between 2005 and 2009, she is already working as a European Commissioner in the Berlin district and explaining to the citizens what makes Europe tick. So she writes a doctoral thesis about herself, makes her job the topic of her work. But that alone is no reason to deprive her of the title.
VroniPlag received a first hint of inconsistencies in July 2011. A student doing research for his master’s thesis notices that Giffey had not identified a takeover from a political science lexicon, as reported by the »Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung«.
But the plagiarism hunters only start work after a further tip at the beginning of 2018.
The accusations
At the beginning of May 2019
, the plagiarism hunters finished their test. Their judgment is harsh, they accuse Giffey of "numerous literal and analogous text adoptions", "which are not identified as such". The Vroni Plag examiners find violations of scientific rules on more than 70 of the 200 pages in Giffey's doctoral thesis entitled »Europe's way to the citizen«. On 11 pages of the work there is "50 to 75 percent plagiarism text", on one page even more than 75 percent, according to the VroniPlag page.
VroniPlag activist Gerhard Dannemann, professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin, accuses Giffey of having violated the scientific citation rules on a large scale, for example by using "blind and incorrect citations", in which she also accepted the evidence in footnotes without checking. “This way of quoting is particularly dangerous because it perpetuates errors.” Giffey says: “For me, an anonymous internet platform is not the place that makes the decision, but my university, where I wrote this dissertation . ”Then she said nothing more about the affair for a long time.
In mid-May 2019
, a good week after the Vroni Plag verdict, the then CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke up and suggested to the SPD that she should part with Giffey as Federal Family Minister if the allegations of plagiarism were confirmed.
They then assume "that the SPD will apply the same standards to its own minister as it has applied to the Union ministers," says Kramp-Karrenbauer.
She is alluding to the former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU) and the former Education Minister Annette Schavan (CDU).
Both had resigned after their doctorates were revoked on allegations of plagiarism.
In both cases, the SPD had called for resignation.
The American way of quoting
In order to save her title, Giffey hires a lawyer to whom she gives several folders with records from the time of her doctorate as well as a USB stick with hundreds of e-mails.
In an expert opinion
at the end of June 2019
, the
lawyer points
out that Giffey's then doctoral supervisor had given her a certain American way of quoting, in which the references to other works are much less detailed than in the German style.
There can be no question of deception because Giffey only implemented what was required of her.
Experts cannot fully understand this explanation.
At the time, Vroni Plag activist Dannemann expressed himself in the Berliner Morgenpost with the words that an American way of quoting Giffey did not exist.
In August 2019
, Giffey announced that she would resign if she lost her doctorate and also excluded her candidacy for the SPD chairmanship.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Family Affairs said at the time: "The review of your doctoral thesis by the Free University of Berlin should not overshadow or even burden the personnel reorganization of the SPD."
At the end of October 2019, the FU will present
the results of the investigation.
Giffey receives a reprimand, but is allowed to keep her doctorate.
"Got away with the doctor" was what the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called it at the time.
The FU justifies its decision by stating that the “overall picture of the deficiencies found” does not justify the “withdrawal of the doctoral degree”.
In spite of everything, it is "an independent scientific achievement".
With this decision, the five-person commission of the FU arouses criticism from various ranks.
Vroni Plag activist Dannemann told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the FU had already revoked the doctorate in “less severe cases”.
The Munich plagiarism expert and law professor Volker Rieble calls the decision "illegal".
The jurisprudence has repeatedly confirmed that a minimum of plagiarism is enough to revoke the doctorate.
The role of Giffey's doctoral supervisor
Until
March 2020
, Giffey
will
make headlines again mainly with political content and is being traded as the successor to Berlin Mayor Michael Müller. But then the AfD comes into play. The Berlin parliamentary group is reopening the affair with a written request to the Senate. The AfD MP Martin Trefzer, scientific spokesman for his parliamentary group, wants to know whether Giffey has deliberately deceived in her work.
The Senate's answers simply say: "The resolution was partially affirmed by the responsible committee." It also states that Giffey "did not consistently observe the standards of scientific work." The committee justified the fact that the doctoral degree was not revoked with the "principle of proportionality". The final report prepared by the review panel should remain under lock and key. Only the presidium of the university and Franziska Giffey personally have access to it, writes the Senate in its answer to the request of the AfD politician.
After the inquiry, the Senate confirmed that the committee that was supposed to review the deficiencies in Giffey's work had been set up by the doctoral committee of the Otto Suhr Institute of the FU. Accordingly, Giffey's doctor mother Tanja Börzel was allowed to determine who controls the work.
In October 2020
, the procedure for Giffey's doctoral thesis will finally be reviewed.
The FU now wants to investigate whether the complaint was legitimately issued.
Because: Such a complaint is not expressly regulated in the Berlin University Act.
She uses Ulrich Battis, the former rector of the Fernuniversität Hagen.
Student representatives, however, surprisingly publish the test report and speak out in favor of revoking Giffey's doctorate.
The scientist Klaus Gärditz, an expert commissioned by the Berlin CDU parliamentary group, also comes to the conclusion: The FU should have withdrawn the title.
Gärditz explains that the committee misjudged the legally relevant standards for assessing the deceptions.
Waiver of the doctorate
In November 2020
, the FU announced that it would lift the complaint and make a new decision. Franziska Giffey renounces her doctorate »to avert further damage to my family, my political work and my party«. But for some politicians that doesn't go far enough. The deputy chairman of the FDP, Wolfgang Kubicki, told the "Bild" newspaper: "If it turns out that she was wrong, all she can do is resign."
Giffey's predecessor in the office of mayor of Berlin-Neukölln, Heinz Buschkowsky (SPD), says that Giffey's resignation comes "much too late to get out of the number with decency."
Actually, she has no choice but to "draw the conclusions that she herself announced a year ago."
The FDP member of the Bundestag Thomas Sattelberger says that Giffey tried to sit out the plagiarism affair until the end.
“That shows neither decency nor morality nor insight.
Anyone who acts so hypocritically will be disqualified for a top candidate.
And also for a ministerial office. "
Despite the demands and allegations, Giffey was elected chairman of the Berlin SPD together with Raed Saleh at the end of November and was nominated as the top candidate for the 2021 parliamentary elections.
At the beginning of December
she told Zeit that she wanted to compete in Berlin, no matter what.
At the beginning of May
, the FU finished the second examination of Franziska Giffey's doctoral thesis and gave her four weeks to comment on her dissertation. The university does not want to publish the result beforehand. A week later, the "Business Insider" reports, citing university circles, that Giffey is now really in danger of having her title withdrawn. According to this, the university's examination board is said to have spoken out in favor of withdrawing the doctorate. The FU has not yet published anything - but Giffey decides how it should continue for her personally in the affair: This Wednesday she asks the Chancellor to be dismissed from her office. She wants to hold on to her top candidacy for the Berlin SPD.