Sent back to Germany

United States border guards detained Karl Dietrich Wolff upon his arrival in New York for several hours before ordering him to return immediately to Germany. The officials said Wolff's visa, which should have been valid until 2010, had expired in 2003. Wolff was not given a reason for his visa's early expiration.

"They had printed out a slip of paper with my picture from the visa. On top of it was printed 'Revoked, Revoked, Revoked,'" Wolff told Deutsche Welle in an interview.

"The US doesn't know who its friends are"

The German branch of PEN, an international association of writers that includes Wolff as a member, had some harsh words for the actions of the Americans, saying the move was outrageous and amounted as an infringement on human rights. They compared it to a current controversy surrounding the Frankfurt Book Fair, where certain Chinese authors have been asked not to attend. Wolff himself, however, took a slightly softer stance.

"The American government doesn't know who their friends are," Wolff said. "I've always defended the democratic structures of the United States, and even after what happened at the New York airport I think that the United States is surprisingly strong in the ability to correct itself."

Wolff's intended destination was a conference called African American Civil Rights and Germany in the 20th Century at Vasser College in the state of New York.

Wolff familiar with cold shoulder from America

Wolff is no stranger to controversy. In Germany, he is best known for publishing critical editions of classical writers such as Friedrich Hoelderlin or Franz Kafka. He also founded Germany's Black Panther Solidarity Committee and was a leader of the Socialist German Student Union activist group in the 60s. Wolff once publically described the American ruling class as 'criminal bandits' and 'a reincarnation of the Nazis.' The statements earned him a ban from the United States in 1969. The ban was lifted in 1987, and Wolff has visited the United States many times since without any problems - until now.

"For me this was a strange return of the past because my visa was made invalid just like in 1969, and the fact that I was going to a conference about civil rights and Afro-American resistance to the war in Vietnam brought back memories, too,” said Wolff.

Vassar College is still planning on Wolff's participation in its conference via video feed. The German government's coordinator for transatlantic relations, Karsten Voigt, told Wolff he would speak with America's German ambassador about the incident.

Author: Uwe Hessler/mz/DPA
Editor: Michael Lawton