Bielefeld Conspiracy

The Bielefeld marketplace. This photograph and other alleged proof of the existence of Bielefeld are regarded as part of the conspiracy.

The Bielefeld Conspiracy (German: Bielefeldverschwörung or Bielefeld-Verschwörung) is a satire of conspiracy theories that originated in 1994 in the German Usenet, which claims that the city of Bielefeld does not actually exist,[1] but is an illusion propagated by various forces. Originally an internet phenomenon, the conspiracy has since been represented in the city's marketing,[2] and referred to by Chancellor Angela Merkel.[3]

Synopsis

The story goes that the city of Bielefeld (population of 323,076 as of 2011)[4] in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia does not actually exist. Rather, its existence is merely propagated by an entity known only as THEM (SIE in German), which has conspired with the authorities to create the illusion of the city's existence.

The theory poses three questions:

  1. Do you know anybody from Bielefeld?
  2. Have you ever been to Bielefeld?
  3. Do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld?

A majority are expected to answer 'no' to all three queries. Anybody claiming knowledge is said to be part of the conspiracy or to be deceiving themselves.

The origins of and reasons for this conspiracy are not a part of the 'canonical' theory. Speculated originators jokingly include the CIA, Mossad, or aliens who use Bielefeld University as a disguise for their spaceship.[5][6]

History

The conspiracy theory was first made public in a posting to the newsgroup de.talk.bizarre on May 16, 1993, by Achim Held, a computer science student at the University of Kiel.[7] When a friend of Achim Held met someone from Bielefeld at a student party in 1993, he said "Das gibt's doch gar nicht", a phrase comparable to "I don't believe it", signifying disbelief or surprise. However, its literal translation is "That doesn't exist."; thus he (accidentally) implied that he refuses to believe that someone came from Bielefeld. From there, it spread throughout the German-speaking Internet community, and has lost little of its popularity, even after 23 years.

In a television interview conducted for the tenth anniversary of the newsgroup posting, Held stated that this myth definitely originated from his Usenet posting which was intended only as a joke. According to Held, the idea for the conspiracy theory formed in his mind at a student party while speaking to an avid reader of New Age magazines, and from a car journey past Bielefeld at a time when the exit from the Autobahn to it was closed.[8][9]

There are a number of conflicting theories about the reasons behind the joke's gain in popularity, the most popular being a flame war between Usenet admins and the Bielefeld-based Z-Netz BBS about text encodings.

Historian Alan Lessoff notes that a reason for the amusement value of the theory is Bielefeld's lack of notable features or reasons to visit it, being home to no major institutions or tourist attractions and not being on the course of a major river: "Bielefeld defines nondescript".[10][11]

Public reception

The Bielefeld Conspiracy remains one of the most popular internet jokes originating in Germany.

In November 2012, German Chancellor Angela Merkel referred to the Bielefeld Conspiracy in public when talking about a town hall meeting she had attended in Bielefeld, adding: "…if it exists at all." and "I had the impression that I was there."[3]

Official response

The city council of Bielefeld tries hard to generate publicity for Bielefeld and build a nationally known public image of the city. Even after 17 years, however, the mayor's office receives phone calls and e-mails which claim to doubt the existence of the city.[8]

In 1999, five years after the myth started to spread, the city council released a press statement titled Bielefeld gibt es doch! (Bielefeld does exist!) on April Fools' Day. In allusion to the conspiracy the 800th anniversary of Bielefeld was held under the motto Das gibt's doch gar nicht (colloquially "This can't be true", but literally "That doesn't exist at all").[2]

Movie

In 2009, film students at Bielefeld University started a project to develop a feature film based on the Bielefeld Conspiracy. The project was financed by the university and local sponsors. Most of the project's staff and actors were students or university employees; a few professionals, such as the actress Julia Kahl and the cameraman Alexander Böke, also joined the project. The screenplay was written by Thomas Walden. The movie was premiered in Bielefeld on June 2, 2010.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "The Bielefeld Conspiracy". Youtube. 19 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 von Lüpke, Marc. "'Ich habe die Bielefeld-Verschwörung unterschätzt'" ['I underestimated the Bielefeld Conspiracy']. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 Article: "Auch Merkel zweifelt an Existenz Bielefelds (German), Die Welt, November 27, 2012 (retrieved May 07, 2013).
  4. ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Die Bielefeld-Verschwörung – German page detailing the conspiracy, as originally setup by Achim Held in 1994. (German)
  6. ↑ Germany's Latest Conspiracy Theory at the Deutsche Welle website
  7. ↑ The first newsgroup posting (Archived version at Google Groups) (German)
  8. 1 2 Transcript of the TV interview with Achim Held in 2004 (German)
  9. ↑ "Der Mann hinter der großen Bielefeld-Verschwörung". Die Welt. 2013-01-23. (German)
  10. ↑ Alan Lessoff (28 February 2015). Where Texas Meets the Sea: Corpus Christi and Its History. University of Texas Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-292-76823-9.
  11. ↑ Philippe Blanchard; Dimitri Volchenkov (23 October 2008). Mathematical Analysis of Urban Spatial Networks. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-3-540-87829-2.
  12. ↑ Bielefake-Satire – Wir sehen uns nur in dieser Welt ... at Spiegel Online (2010-6-4) (German)
  13. ↑ Die Bielefeld Verschwörung at the Internet Movie Database

Literature

Coordinates: 52°01′22″N 8°32′00″E / 52.02278°N 8.53333°E / 52.02278; 8.53333

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.