“The Game of His Life”

Cover story: Who was the mass murderer of Erfurt? His teachers, no longer able to manage him, sent him away. His parents, who knew nothing about him, gave up. Robert Steinhäuser decided to live with a lie, and shortly before he was exposed he killed – following the example of his video games.

“And Then He’s Rambo”

SPIEGEL interview with psychiatrist Lothar Adler about the typical profile of crazed gunmen and Robert Steinhäuser’s path from a child with problems socialising to an avenging mass murderer:

“The classical person who runs amok is male, well educated, usually 30 to 40 years old, and facing the depressing bottom line of his life. At the time he runs amok he is unemployed in spite of his good education. … The number of such people remained constant right into the 1990s, but since then it has been rising; and the reason for this development is school children in whom something suddenly snaps. The increase should make us prick up our ears: in one and a half years, three fatal incidents have occurred in Germany alone, and they have displayed increasing brutality. For the first time we are observing the effect of imitation among people who run amok, like the Werther effect among suicides. … Robert Steinhäuser belongs to the third category: people with personality disorders. They carry out the most spectacular crimes, with the most victims. As a rule, the people behind them are narcissistic, their feelings are easily hurt and their relationships are disturbed. In addition, these people have very precise, aspiring ideas about themselves. But these self images can no longer be brought into line with reality. They suffer one insult after another and forget none of them. In the end they strike out against the world which they feel is so unjust.”

Gun laws: There are few areas in which society is as well organised as when it comes to firearms. For years, the gun lobby has been resisting all attempts at curtailing its privileges, with a level of efficiency otherwise only found among car drivers.

“Resistance Is a National Right”

SPIEGEL interview with Lebanese president Emile Lahoud about his support for the Hizbollah, the escalation on the border with Israel, and Germany’s role in the Middle East conflict:

“What’s the big deal if I support our resistance movement? I’m not alone in my attitude, our entire population stands behind the fighters. Resistance is a national right, and indeed the duty of every citizen. … Sharon should take note of the fact that his threats no longer intimidate us Lebanese. Certainly, they have attacked us in the past. But we have long ago rebuilt what the Israelis destroyed in Southern Lebanon. … We view Europe as the voice of justice. And I ask myself: isn’t it time for Germany to put aside at last its sensitivities due to World War II?”

“Second Career”

Contemporary history: The Jewish philosopher and Holocaust researcher Hannah Arendt was looked after at her German publisher’s by a former SS officer. Arendt’s books have been published by the Munich publishing company since 1958, among them the translation of her sensational report about the trial of SS officer Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. What Arendt did not know was that the man with whom she corresponded for years about this and other manuscripts was in fact a former colleague of Eichmann’s from the Reich Central Security Office RSHA. Hans Rößner had been one of the young, anti-Semitic intellectuals who were filled with enthusiasm by the Nazis’ radical activism.

“Our Hero and Brother”

Afghanistan: Herat, the holy Islamic city on the border with Iran, is considered a haven of peace – thanks to its governor Ismail Khan. He controls the region, but is putting the government in Kabul under pressure. However many of Herat’s inhabitants don’t want to accept Khan’s autocratic rule.

“Triumphal March of the Heavenly Herons”

Information technology: Over 50 million Chinese surf the Internet; in five years time the figure will probably be well over 200 million. The leaders in Beijing are promoting the IT industry as a main source of future economic growth. Will China soon rise to become the world’s principal high-tech nation? No other industry in China displays such dynamism as the electronics industry. From DVD players to floppy disc drives, from colour televisions to hard disks, from computers to mouses – in the meantime, the Chinese manufacture virtually all IT products themselves. On joining the World Trade Organisation last November China, undertook to lower duties and import tariffs. Companies from the USA, Japan and Taiwan will therefore be trying harder than before to conquer the Chinese market. Licences and laws are often unclearly worded, and business deals are obstructed by nonsensical regulations. On the one hand, China’s leadership is promoting the IT industry with all its might, on the other hand it is trying to control the growing flow of information – which is like the squaring of the circle. Websites operators are threatened with penalties if participants in their discussion forums criticise the political leaders or reveal so-called state secrets.

“Blockbuster from Outer Space”

Aviation: In future, the aviation giant Boeing does not intend to confine itself to building aeroplanes. The Americans are now seeking allies – in Europe. They already have their sights set on one potential partner: the Siemens Group. Boeing’s managers not only want to sell their aeroplanes and related services here, but also conduct R&D projects together with German partners, enter into joint ventures with large companies such as Siemens or Telekom, and even take over entire companies.

“Values from Germany”

Foreign aid: They studied in the socialist east or in the capitalist west of Germany. Now, the former scholars from Afghanistan belong to the elite in a country destroyed by war. Oddly enough, it is precisely the division of Germany which helped Afghanistan to enjoy a unique continuity in foreign aid during its changeable history. A total of 2000 Afghans were trained in Germany between 1960 and 1990. Almost all the Afghans who returned from Germany share a deep sense of patriotism. Even after more than 20 years abroad, they still consider that their main duty is to come to the assistance of their ravaged country. Some Afghans only realise how deeply the experiences in Germany shaped them personally once they return from exile to the new, fragile peace in their country. “In spite of all the years, I always remained a stranger in Germany,” Minister of Reconstruction Amin Farhang explains, “and I had to come back here to Kabul to appreciate how much I actually love the Germans.”

“The Victory of the Stool-pigeon”

Secret services: A former contact is claimed to have misused 450,000 marks of agent’s fees. The state of Berlin has sued him and lost – a unique case in German court history. The charges were filed by the state because it felt that its former top agent had taken it for a ride. He was supposed to have used the 450,000 marks to move house, for his own safety. Volker Weingraber took the money, but stayed where he was. Now, 23 years after his activities as a spy, Weingraber has emerged victorious, for the time being, from the strange dispute.

“The Kingdom of the Simple Dwarfs”

Biology: In a volcanic area at the bottom of the sea, German researchers have discovered the world’s most primitive creature. It could reveal how life on Earth started. Whereas human beings have some 40,000 genes, this marine minimalist has to make do with at most 400. And while wondrous creatures like blue whales, octopuses and sea grass evolved around it, the genetic primitive has been sitting on its hot sulphur cauldron since the beginning of time, almost unchanged over billions of years.

“Cool Quickies”

Idols: The FBI once investigated Marlene Dietrich on suspicion of espionage – but all that the agents were able to reveal was a few intimacies.