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Summer
2001 |
The Community
moves from Baden-Württemberg and |
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July 2001 |
At our
request the first meeting with the school authorities takes place in
Deiningen: The different viewpoints are discussed and our experiences from
the other states are explained. The officials refer us to the authority of
the Bavarian Minister of Education in |
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August 2001 |
First Letter
to the Bavarian Minister of Education, Mrs. Hohlmeier Telephone
conversations with the Ministry of Education in Munich |
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September 2001 |
Response from
the Ministry of Education. This letter contains a mere reminder of the strict
education laws and doesn’t show any understanding for our conflict of
conscience. |
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October 2001 |
The Donau-Ries
county issues the first „coercive fines“ (2000 Euro per child) to the parents
of the Community. These coercive fines are intended to put pressure on the
parents to conform to the law. Furthermore,
the county issues fines because the families didn’t register their children
in the public school of Deiningen.The parents ask themselves why they should
register their children in a school that they are not going to send their
children to? |
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October 2001 |
Letter to the
Regional Government of Swabia (our region of |
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November 2001 |
Response from
the Swabian Government. Again, the officials only point out the laws, but fail to recognize
that the compulsory education law wasn’t written for parents who school their
children at home. |
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November 2001 |
Letter to the
Ministry of Education. We make clear suggestions on how we could work
together with the authorities. This letter and all the following letters to
Mrs. Hohlmeier however are never answered. A long series of attempts to
establich mutual trust between the families in our community and the
officials fails due to the unwillingness of the Ministry of Education to talk
to us. |
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The German
Revenue Service starts to attempt to confiscate possessions and moneys
because the parents – out of conviction – refuse to pay the “coercive fines.” |
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January 2002 |
Another phone
conversation with the Ministry of Education in which we request another
appointment: without success |
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May 2002 |
The parents
of the Community lose their appeal against the coercive fines in the |
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June 2002 |
Parents are
judged guilty in the County Court in Nördlingen, because they didn’t register
their children in public school. Even if they didn’t plan on sending their
children to school, the judge argues, they should have registered them
because the law says so…The parents find it difficult to understand the
government’s arguments but comply. They pay their non-registration fines and (formally)
register their children in school. |
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September
2002 |
The appeal
against the decision of the |
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October 2002 |
Police Raid
in Klosterzimmern in order to force the children to go to school .
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October 2002 |
First visit by
school officials in Klosterzimmern |
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October 2002 |
Another letter
to the Minister of Education, Mrs. Hohlmeier. Again, no response. |
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March2003 |
The parents
receive another fine. The county lists the days that the children missed in
school, and fines them for them. The parents appeal against these fines. |
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April
2003 |
Letter to the
Minister of Education; no response |
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October 2003 |
The parents
lose their court case at the county courthouse in Nördlingen The parents
refuse to pay these fines. Of course, the parents would usually pay any fines
such as parking tickets. In this conflict it is not a
preference but a matter of conscience. The parents cannot act against their
concience, and don’t think that they committed anything worthy of being fined
for. |
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December 2003 |
Letter to the Ministry of Education, in which the parents ask for an appointment again. They suggest January 24, 2004
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January |
Unfortunately,
there is no response to this letter. Since the suggested appointment was not cancelled,
some parents and children go to the Ministry of Education in They write an
open letter to Mrs. Hohlmeier, also listing a chronology of the unsuccessful
attempts to get in contact with the Ministry of Education in |
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January |
The Revenue
Service demands that the families in Klosterzimmern give an affidavit of
their finances |
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Summer 2004 |
The State
Attorney in Augsburg applies 6 to 16 days of „Coercive Jail Sentence“ for the
fathers and mothers in Klosterzimmern in order to make them pay these fines. It
is becoming more and more obvious that the issue at stake is not the well-being
of the children, but to
demonstrate who has more power. |
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July 2004 |
Another fine
issued to the parents in Klosterzimmern The Donau-Ries
county wants to test the children of school-age academically
in order to find out whether they can proceed in bringing custodial
charges against the parents. The parents consider
that these tests don’t make much sense at this time (as far as pedagogics are
concerned) in view of the imminent jail sentences for the parents, and
refuse. The parents clearly state that they acknowledge the authorities’
right to know that we are schooling our children, and to come in to see our
schooling and all curriculum materials.
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August
2004 |
The county judge orders „coercive jail“ for 18 fathers and mothers in
Klosterzimmern. The parents appeal against this decision. |
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September
2004 |
Summary of the Status Quo: I) In a few weeks the parents will be put in jail (coercive jail sentence) for not paying the fines (for not sending their children to public school from September 2002 until January 2003) II)The parents have to appear on November 11, 2004 in the county court of Noerdlingen/Bavaria for not paying fines for the period of time from September 2003 until December 2003. III)The parents are fined for not sending their children to public school from March 2004 until July 2004. IV) In September the parents of children who had just become of school age were fined with a "coercive fine" of 2000 Euro per child. The parents have appealed this. Previous appeals have been denied by the Administrative Court of Augsburg. |
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| October 2004 |
The misuse of legal measures continues: On October 15th, 7 fathers of homeschooled children have to go to 'coercive jail' for 6 to 16 days in a prison in Augsburg, Bavaria. The authorities want to "bend" the parents' will so they will pay their fines, stop homeschooling their children, and instead send them to public schools. The mothers (three have small, nursing children) are supposed to go to jail later. |
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October 2004 |
Press conference in Pfaefflingen The 7 fathers won't go to prison on their own Some statements |
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October 2004 |
October 18th |
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| October 2004 | October 21st picture here |
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| October 2004 | October 24th picture here |
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One by one the fathers return from their time in prison. Their conviction is strengthened, the families are thankful to be together again. |
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| November 2004 | On 11/11/04 the parents have to appear at the Nördlingen county courthouse because they appealed against another fine.... |
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| 5th of November The head of the Donau-Ries county, Mr. Rößle, asked the state attorney of Augsburg to adjourn the "coercive jail sentence" of the mothers of our community, in order to gain a "window of time" for further talks. |
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8th of November |
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| December 2004 | The year 2004 ends with a bit of good news: In January of 2005, the school board officials want to come and observe our classes in Klosterzimmern. This is encouraging |
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| January 2005 | On January 17th and 20 th school board officials came to visit our classes in Klosterzimmern. They visited the different levels, got to know teachers and students and looked at books and teaching materials we are using. Soon there will be talks with the ministry of education.
Even though some progress is being made with the school officials the state attorney and the county court remain firm: On January 27th and Februray 10th old fines will be judged. Neither the state attorney nor the county court are willing to postpone theses cases until the negotiations with the ministry of education show results. |
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| January 27th The judge made it clear from the very beginning that he was not going to acquit us. Even though we explained our conflict of conscience and faith, referred to Human Rights Declarations and the German Constitution, talked about the German past he judged us guilty and raised the fines because he said we didn't learn from our first sentence! He even charged the politicians to not relax the (compulsory school) law and to not be too soft with us. He said that everything we had explained about the conscience and faith and Human Rights had already been judged by the German Supreme Court as inferior and less weighty than the right and interest of the state to educate the children! |
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| February 6th The parents are not expecting another court hearing where their constitutional rights (especially Art. 4 and 6, Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience and Parental Rights, German Constitution) would be honored and protected. For this reason the parents withdrew their appeals for a new set of fines and did not deem it worthwhile to have another court hearing on February 10th. |
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| February 2006 | Good
News!!! |
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