 book , The Sect of Scientology and its Front Organizations . In 1981 , the organization 's founder , Ingo Heinemann , became the director of Aktion für geistige und psychische Freiheit ( " Campaign for Intellectual and Psychic Freedom " ) , Germany 's most prominent anti @-@ cult organization . Warnings from sect experts about the influence of new religious movements gained media attention which put political pressure on the government to deal with the situation ; as the movements were not doing anything illegal , the government resorted to issuing a range of leaflets and public statements giving general warnings about religious sects , the earliest of these publications appearing in 1979 .   Fueled by events such as the Waco Siege in 1993 , the murders and suicides associated with the Order of the Solar Temple , and the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo incidents in Japan , German fears and concerns about new religious movements gained in intensity in the 1990s , with Scientology attracting particular attention . Perceptions that Scientology had a totalitarian character were reinforced when Robert Vaughn Young , an American ex @-@ Scientologist and former PR official in the Church of Scientology , visited German officials in late 1995 and wrote an article in Der Spiegel , a widely @-@ read weekly magazine , describing Scientology as a totalitarian system operating a gulag – the Rehabilitation Project Force – for members of Scientology 's Sea Org found guilty of transgressions . From the mid @-@ 1990s onward , press articles , reports and essays on Scientology appeared on an almost daily basis , accompanied by books and television programmes that reached a mass audience .   As noted by the religious scholar Hubert Seiwert , Scientology came to be seen as a " serious political danger that not only threatened to turn individuals into will @-@ less zombies , but was also conspiring to overthrow the democratic constitution of the state " . This view of Scientology as a public enemy , Seiwert adds , " became a matter of political correctness " : senior political figures became involved in launching campaigns against Scientology , and being suspected of any association with it resulted in social ostracism . Stephen A. Kent , writing in 1998 , noted that officials at all levels of German government shared the insistence that Scientology should be suppressed . Scientology was viewed as " a totalitarian , business @-@ driven organization [ ... ] guilty of significant human rights abuses . " Officials examining primary and secondary sources , legal documents , and the testimony of former members , concluded that the organization was " antithetical to a democratic state " . Federal ministries and state governments were asked to use all legal means at their disposal to check the activities of Scientology .   Government publications on the dangers of sects increased between 1996 and 1998 , and a significant number of them dealt with the Church of Scientology . The German courts had approved such publications in 1989 , seeing them as part of the government 's responsibility to keep the public informed , and finding that they did not interfere with religious freedom . In 1996 , the German parliament launched an Enquete ( Enquiry ) Commission to investigate sects and similar groups , in large part because of public concerns about Scientology . Its final report , published in June 1998 , concluded that Scientology , alone among new religious movements , required monitoring by Germany 's domestic intelligence services .   An area of widespread concern in the German media has been the alleged " infiltration " of businesses by Scientologists , in line with Scientology 's declared aim to penetrate society , politics and business in preparation for world domination . Attempts to infiltrate businesses have reportedly been most successful among small and medium @-@ size companies , such as estate agents , management consultants and management @-@ training companies . Management @-@ consultancy firms led by Scientologists often conceal their association with Scientology ; once they have recruited members of their clients ' upper management , these managers may send employees to Scientology trainers , as part of company education and training programmes , without informing them as to the origin of the training methods used . An expensive commercial version of Scientology 's Oxford Capacity Analysis , usually offered free as part of Scientology proselytizing in public places , temporarily entered some major German companies ( who were unaware of its provenance ) via such a management @-@ consultancy firm .   In the mid @-@ 2000s , German sect experts expressed concerns that Scientologists were becoming active in the German after @-@ school tutoring market . These concerns arose because customers of around 20 after @-@ school tutoring centres operated by Scientologists in Frankfurt , Hamburg , Stuttgart and elsewhere might be unaware that their children were being taught by Scientologists , using Scientology methods . Brochures advertising the tutoring services would at most mention the name of L. Ron Hubbard , the founder of Scientology , but not Scientology itself .   In early 2008 , Thomas Gandow , Sect Commissioner of the German Lutheran Church in Berlin and Brandenburg , and the historian Guido Knopp both likened the Scientologist Hollywood actor Tom Cruise to Goebbels , the Nazi propaganda minister . Gandow and Knopp cited a leaked Scientology video in which Cruise was
Ġbook Ġ, ĠThe ĠSect Ġof ĠScientology Ġand Ġits ĠFront ĠOrganizations Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1981 Ġ, Ġthe Ġorganization Ġ' s Ġfounder Ġ, ĠIn go ĠHe inem ann Ġ, Ġbecame Ġthe Ġdirector Ġof ĠAk tion Ġf Ã¼r Ġge ist ige Ġund Ġpsych ische ĠFre i heit Ġ( Ġ" ĠCampaign Ġfor ĠIntellectual Ġand ĠPsychic ĠFreedom Ġ" Ġ) Ġ, ĠGermany Ġ' s Ġmost Ġprominent Ġanti Ġ@ - @ Ġcult Ġorganization Ġ. ĠWarn ings Ġfrom Ġsect Ġexperts Ġabout Ġthe Ġinfluence Ġof Ġnew Ġreligious Ġmovements Ġgained Ġmedia Ġattention Ġwhich Ġput Ġpolitical Ġpressure Ġon Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġto Ġdeal Ġwith Ġthe Ġsituation Ġ; Ġas Ġthe Ġmovements Ġwere Ġnot Ġdoing Ġanything Ġillegal Ġ, Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġresorted Ġto Ġissuing Ġa Ġrange Ġof Ġleaflets Ġand Ġpublic Ġstatements Ġgiving Ġgeneral Ġwarnings Ġabout Ġreligious Ġsects Ġ, Ġthe Ġearliest Ġof Ġthese Ġpublications Ġappearing Ġin Ġ1979 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFuel ed Ġby Ġevents Ġsuch Ġas Ġthe ĠW aco ĠSiege Ġin Ġ1993 Ġ, Ġthe Ġmurders Ġand Ġsuicides Ġassociated Ġwith Ġthe ĠOrder Ġof Ġthe ĠSolar ĠTemple Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġ1995 ĠA um ĠShin ri ky o Ġincidents Ġin ĠJapan Ġ, ĠGerman Ġfears Ġand Ġconcerns Ġabout Ġnew Ġreligious Ġmovements Ġgained Ġin Ġintensity Ġin Ġthe Ġ1990 s Ġ, Ġwith ĠScientology Ġattracting Ġparticular Ġattention Ġ. ĠPer ceptions Ġthat ĠScientology Ġhad Ġa Ġtotalitarian Ġcharacter Ġwere Ġreinforced Ġwhen ĠRobert ĠVaughn ĠYoung Ġ, Ġan ĠAmerican Ġex Ġ@ - @ ĠScient ologist Ġand Ġformer ĠPR Ġofficial Ġin Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġ, Ġvisited ĠGerman Ġofficials Ġin Ġlate Ġ1995 Ġand Ġwrote Ġan Ġarticle Ġin ĠDer ĠSpiegel Ġ, Ġa Ġwidely Ġ@ - @ Ġread Ġweekly Ġmagazine Ġ, Ġdescribing ĠScientology Ġas Ġa Ġtotalitarian Ġsystem Ġoperating Ġa Ġgul ag ĠâĢĵ Ġthe ĠRehab ilitation ĠProject ĠForce ĠâĢĵ Ġfor Ġmembers Ġof ĠScientology Ġ' s ĠSea ĠOr g Ġfound Ġguilty Ġof Ġtransgress ions Ġ. ĠFrom Ġthe Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1990 s Ġonward Ġ, Ġpress Ġarticles Ġ, Ġreports Ġand Ġessays Ġon ĠScientology Ġappeared Ġon Ġan Ġalmost Ġdaily Ġbasis Ġ, Ġaccompanied Ġby Ġbooks Ġand Ġtelevision Ġprogrammes Ġthat Ġreached Ġa Ġmass Ġaudience Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġnoted Ġby Ġthe Ġreligious Ġscholar ĠHu bert ĠSe iw ert Ġ, ĠScientology Ġcame Ġto Ġbe Ġseen Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġserious Ġpolitical Ġdanger Ġthat Ġnot Ġonly Ġthreatened Ġto Ġturn Ġindividuals Ġinto Ġwill Ġ@ - @ Ġless Ġzombies Ġ, Ġbut Ġwas Ġalso Ġconspiring Ġto Ġoverthrow Ġthe Ġdemocratic Ġconstitution Ġof Ġthe Ġstate Ġ" Ġ. ĠThis Ġview Ġof ĠScientology Ġas Ġa Ġpublic Ġenemy Ġ, ĠSe iw ert Ġadds Ġ, Ġ" Ġbecame Ġa Ġmatter Ġof Ġpolitical Ġcorrectness Ġ" Ġ: Ġsenior Ġpolitical Ġfigures Ġbecame Ġinvolved Ġin Ġlaunching Ġcampaigns Ġagainst ĠScientology Ġ, Ġand Ġbeing Ġsuspected Ġof Ġany Ġassociation Ġwith Ġit Ġresulted Ġin Ġsocial Ġostr ac ism Ġ. ĠStephen ĠA . ĠKent Ġ, Ġwriting Ġin Ġ1998 Ġ, Ġnoted Ġthat Ġofficials Ġat Ġall Ġlevels Ġof ĠGerman Ġgovernment Ġshared Ġthe Ġinsistence Ġthat ĠScientology Ġshould Ġbe Ġsuppressed Ġ. ĠScientology Ġwas Ġviewed Ġas Ġ" Ġa Ġtotalitarian Ġ, Ġbusiness Ġ@ - @ Ġdriven Ġorganization Ġ[ Ġ... Ġ] Ġguilty Ġof Ġsignificant Ġhuman Ġrights Ġabuses Ġ. Ġ" ĠOfficials Ġexamining Ġprimary Ġand Ġsecondary Ġsources Ġ, Ġlegal Ġdocuments Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġtestimony Ġof Ġformer Ġmembers Ġ, Ġconcluded Ġthat Ġthe Ġorganization Ġwas Ġ" Ġantit hetical Ġto Ġa Ġdemocratic Ġstate Ġ" Ġ. ĠFederal Ġministries Ġand Ġstate Ġgovernments Ġwere Ġasked Ġto Ġuse Ġall Ġlegal Ġmeans Ġat Ġtheir Ġdisposal Ġto Ġcheck Ġthe Ġactivities Ġof ĠScientology Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGovernment Ġpublications Ġon Ġthe Ġdangers Ġof Ġsects Ġincreased Ġbetween Ġ1996 Ġand Ġ1998 Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġsignificant Ġnumber Ġof Ġthem Ġdealt Ġwith Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġ. ĠThe ĠGerman Ġcourts Ġhad Ġapproved Ġsuch Ġpublications Ġin Ġ1989 Ġ, Ġseeing Ġthem Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġ' s Ġresponsibility Ġto Ġkeep Ġthe Ġpublic Ġinformed Ġ, Ġand Ġfinding Ġthat Ġthey Ġdid Ġnot Ġinterfere Ġwith Ġreligious Ġfreedom Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1996 Ġ, Ġthe ĠGerman Ġparliament Ġlaunched Ġan ĠEn qu ete Ġ( ĠEn qu iry Ġ) ĠCommission Ġto Ġinvestigate Ġsects Ġand Ġsimilar Ġgroups Ġ, Ġin Ġlarge Ġpart Ġbecause Ġof Ġpublic Ġconcerns Ġabout ĠScientology Ġ. ĠIts Ġfinal Ġreport Ġ, Ġpublished Ġin ĠJune Ġ1998 Ġ, Ġconcluded Ġthat ĠScientology Ġ, Ġalone Ġamong Ġnew Ġreligious Ġmovements Ġ, Ġrequired Ġmonitoring Ġby ĠGermany Ġ' s Ġdomestic Ġintelligence Ġservices Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAn Ġarea Ġof Ġwidespread Ġconcern Ġin Ġthe ĠGerman Ġmedia Ġhas Ġbeen Ġthe Ġalleged Ġ" Ġinfiltration Ġ" Ġof Ġbusinesses Ġby ĠScient ologists Ġ, Ġin Ġline Ġwith ĠScientology Ġ' s Ġdeclared Ġaim Ġto Ġpenetrate Ġsociety Ġ, Ġpolitics Ġand Ġbusiness Ġin Ġpreparation Ġfor Ġworld Ġdomination Ġ. ĠAttempt s Ġto Ġinfiltrate Ġbusinesses Ġhave Ġreportedly Ġbeen Ġmost Ġsuccessful Ġamong Ġsmall Ġand Ġmedium Ġ@ - @ Ġsize Ġcompanies Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas Ġestate Ġagents Ġ, Ġmanagement Ġconsultants Ġand Ġmanagement Ġ@ - @ Ġtraining Ġcompanies Ġ. ĠManagement Ġ@ - @ Ġconsultancy Ġfirms Ġled Ġby ĠScient ologists Ġoften Ġconceal Ġtheir Ġassociation Ġwith ĠScientology Ġ; Ġonce Ġthey Ġhave Ġrecruited Ġmembers Ġof Ġtheir Ġclients Ġ' Ġupper Ġmanagement Ġ, Ġthese Ġmanagers Ġmay Ġsend Ġemployees Ġto ĠScientology Ġtrainers Ġ, Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġcompany Ġeducation Ġand Ġtraining Ġprogrammes Ġ, Ġwithout Ġinforming Ġthem Ġas Ġto Ġthe Ġorigin Ġof Ġthe Ġtraining Ġmethods Ġused Ġ. ĠAn Ġexpensive Ġcommercial Ġversion Ġof ĠScientology Ġ' s ĠOxford ĠCapacity ĠAnalysis Ġ, Ġusually Ġoffered Ġfree Ġas Ġpart Ġof ĠScientology Ġprose ly t izing Ġin Ġpublic Ġplaces Ġ, Ġtemporarily Ġentered Ġsome Ġmajor ĠGerman Ġcompanies Ġ( Ġwho Ġwere Ġunaware Ġof Ġits Ġproven ance Ġ) Ġvia Ġsuch Ġa Ġmanagement Ġ@ - @ Ġconsultancy Ġfirm Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ2000 s Ġ, ĠGerman Ġsect Ġexperts Ġexpressed Ġconcerns Ġthat ĠScient ologists Ġwere Ġbecoming Ġactive Ġin Ġthe ĠGerman Ġafter Ġ@ - @ Ġschool Ġtut oring Ġmarket Ġ. ĠThese Ġconcerns Ġarose Ġbecause Ġcustomers Ġof Ġaround Ġ20 Ġafter Ġ@ - @ Ġschool Ġtut oring Ġcentres Ġoperated Ġby ĠScient ologists Ġin ĠFrankfurt Ġ, ĠHamburg Ġ, ĠSt utt gart Ġand Ġelsewhere Ġmight Ġbe Ġunaware Ġthat Ġtheir Ġchildren Ġwere Ġbeing Ġtaught Ġby ĠScient ologists Ġ, Ġusing ĠScientology Ġmethods Ġ. ĠBro ch ures Ġadvertising Ġthe Ġtut oring Ġservices Ġwould Ġat Ġmost Ġmention Ġthe Ġname Ġof ĠL . ĠRon ĠHubbard Ġ, Ġthe Ġfounder Ġof ĠScientology Ġ, Ġbut Ġnot ĠScientology Ġitself Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġearly Ġ2008 Ġ, ĠThomas ĠGand ow Ġ, ĠSect ĠCommissioner Ġof Ġthe ĠGerman ĠLutheran ĠChurch Ġin ĠBerlin Ġand ĠBrand enburg Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġhistorian ĠGu ido ĠK no pp Ġboth Ġlikened Ġthe ĠScient ologist ĠHollywood Ġactor ĠTom ĠCruise Ġto ĠGo eb b els Ġ, Ġthe ĠNazi Ġpropaganda Ġminister Ġ. ĠGand ow Ġand ĠK no pp Ġcited Ġa Ġleaked ĠScientology Ġvideo Ġin Ġwhich ĠCruise Ġwas