There are strong indications that former Chancellor Helmut Kohl made false statements to a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the Flick scandal of the 1980s Had the evidence been made public at the time, it probably would have cost him his office.

"The Pace of a Snail”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with former head of the German Federal Bank Karl Otto Pöhl on the future of the euro, necessary structural reforms in Europe and the ability of the German government to learn:

“In Europe, central bank interest rates are at 4.25 percent, in America with its booming economy they are at 6.5 percent. That is why capital is pouring into America … European interest rates ought to increase even further. … It’s a good thing that a discussion has begun over what is actually meant by a ‘political union’ which is meant to serve as the basis for a common currency. … I have told German Finance Minister Hans Eichel that direct taxes, income tax, should be lowered much more courageously too, instead of paying back national debts at all costs. In this case I agree with the CSU, for once.”

“Europe Will then Be Acting on Its Own”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Javier Solana on the establishment and deployment of an EU army, on its relationship with Nato and America’s aversion to irksome competition:

“There are three possible types of operation: the pure Nato operation, the European-led operation in which Nato installations may be used, and the operation in which Nato is not involved at all. … Political control of its operations will be solely and exclusively in the hands of the countries in the European Union. The transparency for others will be unlimited, but as EU countries we cannot let the political decision be taken out of our hands. … Europe already supplies the largest proportion of humanitarian aid world-wide, we have a tremendous economic capacity and trade relations with many countries in the world. With its military capacity, Europe will undoubtedly then carry a weight in the world that matches its economic one.”

“High Time for an Opposition”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Russian financial magnate Boris Beresovsky on the arrest of his competitor Gussinsky, on the comprehensive powers of President Putin and the dangers for democracy in Russia:

“At the moment there is no opposition left at all – which is why it is high time that a useful opposition was organised against Putin. … Putin is trying to liberalise the economy. It all boils down to a Latin American model: a free market economy and a strictly centralised, authoritarian state. … Sooner or later the combination of economic liberalism and an authority of state fighting with no holds barred, must lead to the media being brought into line. … Putin is being given poor advice at the moment. His people don’t understand that you cannot shape a democratic state without political freedom, economic freedom alone is not enough.”

“The Mullah Connection”

Terrorism: The Lockerbie trial has only just started and already doubts are emerging over the conclusiveness of the prosecution’s evidence against two Libyan agents: an allegedly high-ranking, Iranian secret service co-ordinator accuses Iran of having ordered the American airliner to be shot down. According to him, their motive for the terrorist act was the Iranian mullah’s desire to take revenge for the accidental shooting down of an Iran Air Airbus over the Persian Gulf by US missile cruiser “Vincennes”. 290 Iranians were killed in the incident which took place in July 1988. Whichever way the judges ultimately decide – doubts will remain.

The Airbus superjumbo A3XX will be built, but political hindrances are yet to be overcome.

“The Unloved Angel”

SPIEGEL cover story on the star of a century Marlene Dietrich – from lascivious Lolita to powerful and influential legend of cinematic history. She is a woman who played, portrayed, acted out everything she did as a challenge and a provocation. Even her pathos, even her passion were cold, rational. Eternal life? Even at nearly 90 years of age she found it hard to believe that we “whiz around up there” when we die. No, surely not. Her beauty was beguiling but cold; her charisma sensuous, erotic but dominated by rationality. Not that she was a winner, but she was too proud for her own defeats.

“The Disowned Sister”

What did Elisabeth Will, née Dietrich, do in Bergen-Belsen? It turned out that Marlene Dietrich’s sister had been running a small canteen for the Wehrmacht, together with her husband, in the “Military Camp Cinema” which was located in the barracks of the tank training school – only a few hundred metres from the concentration camp, set up as a place for soldiers and SS henchmen to relax. Years after the war, Elisabeth was still talking about the “moral integrity” of the Third Reich. Whatever evil they may have done, she said, the Nazis had only wanted to restore German honour. No wonder Marlene Dietrich soon gave up the hypocritical fairy tale about the Nazi victim Elisabeth, preferring instead to disown her sister forthwith.

“Harnessing Power”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with former German President Roman Herzog about his work on a charter of basic civil rights for the European Union and the future of the alliance of states:

“There are two points that I have always attached great importance to: firstly, the rights being formulated here should only obligate the organs and institutions of the European Union. Because this site of an increasing accumulation of power is so far not bound to any catalogue of civil rights. Secondly, even where the Charter deals with directives for the actions of public authorities, it must be quite clear that there should be no new jurisdiction for the European Union. … The EU charter of basic civil rights will contain practically nothing that is not already covered by German laws or the German Constitution. … To me the expression “Constitution” is close to the concept of a state, and this Europe will not be a state, at least not in the present sense of the word.”

A controversy has broken out about the awarding of the Konrad Adenauer Prize to historian Ernst Nolte, one of the initiators of the revisionist view of the Third Reich. Calls for the resignation of Horst Möller, the official speaker at the awards ceremony and the head of the respected Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, are growing louder.

“Hot Peace”

Switzerland: The government in Bern wants to radically reduce the size of the army. The troops have long lost their air of heroic legend among the people. The last bloody battles on Swiss soil during the so-called Sonderbund War date back to November 1847. The last shots were fired at eleven German military planes in early June 1940. Unimpressed by the long period of peace, the seven million Swiss citizens nevertheless continue to maintain a dinosaur of an army, which can mobilise 385,000 men in an emergency – more per capita of the population than any other country in Europe.

“Princes and Cyberpunks”

Internet: 33 years ago eccentric Englishmen took possession of a former anti-aircraft platform in the North Sea and proclaimed the “Principality of Sealand”. Sealand’s owner now wants to turn it into a pioneering fortress, together with computer freaks from California: a fortress in which confidential computer data are safe from snooping police officers, tax investigators and secret service agents.

“Unleaded in the Sky”

Aviation: Is the first fuel-saving aeroplane about to hit the market? The ultralight Smart plane is powered by an engine from the car of the same name. In certain areas its flight performance is already better than that of a Cessna – while offering low fuel consumption.