Historians claim five-figure damages from Weltwoche

In a series of articles penned by deputy editor-in-chief Philipp Gut, Weltwoche accused historians Sarasin and Goltermann of "relationship corruption": Professor Sarasin had not recused himself from Goltermann's appointment proceedings, even though the two had had a "romantic relationship" in the past.

An accusation that was and is vehemently denied by both defendants. Nevertheless, Gut has followed up in over a dozen texts since October 2014 and repeatedly emphasized that the story is true. He must now prove this in court. However, this could be difficult, as Gut is invoking the protection of sources. In his articles, he referred to anonymized interview transcripts from Sarasin's personal environment.

Sarasin and Goltermann are seeking satisfaction and damages, which according to the Sonntagszeitung are said to be in the low five-figure range. They are demanding that Weltwoche must never repeat the accusations again and must publish the verdict. The published articles must also be deleted from the archive.

According to the Sonntagszeitung, the two have intact chances of success. On the one hand, because Weltwoche wrote, among other things, that the "largely unknown outside social history circles" Goltermann only got her chair in Zurich "thanks to vitamin B in heavy doses". She was also described as the "body of the nation". This is "the best ammunition for any lawyer", writes the newspaper. On the other hand, because the researcher received medical treatment after the campaign against her and was eventually put on sick leave.

In the fall, Gut will have to answer to the public prosecutor's office again in the same case. The public prosecutor's office brought the charges after the two professors filed a criminal complaint. Gut is accused of multiple counts of defamation and multiple violations of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition. (hae)