In 2019, the marketing department of the city of Bielefeld offered one million euros in prize money: whoever proves that Bielefeld really doesn’t exist should win. Four years later, a court had to make it clear: it was a joke.
Advertisement
The man wanted to claim the reward because he wanted to prove that Bielefeld doesn’t exist. City marketing offered the reward on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the so-called Bielefeld conspiracy in 2019. In 1994, Achim Held said: “Bielefeld doesn’t even exist!” created the so-called Bielefeld conspiracy.
Under the motto “#Bielefeldmillion – The end of a conspiracy”, the city called for people to prove that the East Westphalian metropolis with around 340,000 inhabitants does not exist. Participants were able to submit their “evidence” for two weeks; the conditions for participation were available online.
The man suing in this case also submitted proof of the city’s nonexistence in August 2019, justifying it with a so-called axiom, a theoretically abstract fundamental statement that is valid without proof.
The regional court (LG) Bielefeld dismissed the lawsuit in September, as has now become known (judgment of September 26, 2023, case number 1 O 181/22). After the publication of all the city marketing texts relating to the competition and also the terms and conditions of participation, it became clear that it was a joking marketing campaign. And further: “According to the objective recipient horizon, the required success would only have been the obviously impossible empirical proof of Bielefeld’s non-existence. The axiomatic proof within an axiomatic system was not recorded.” The LG also obviously has something on its plate in terms of interdisciplinary aspects.
Illuminati, Lizardmen and UFOs
The court also gave specific examples from which the man could have recognized that the whole action was not meant entirely seriously. For example, the city stated who, in addition to the city’s employees, was not allowed to take part: “employees of the secret services, members of the Illuminati and Achim Held, the inventor of the conspiracy.”
In the court’s opinion, the exemplary evidence cited in the call also illustrates the focus of the competition: “The lizard people from the interior of the earth called you and you have it on tape? You photographed the landing of a UFO in Bielefeld-Baumheide? Contrails in the sky sent you a secret message? You read something on Facebook? Show us your evidence.”
As a result, the court said the lawsuit was unfounded. “The fact that the city of Bielefeld exists is an obvious fact and does not require any proof (in the sense of the ZPO), § 291 ZPO,” the LG necessarily made additionally clear. According to the court, the man from Bielefeld is therefore not entitled to the reward of one million euros (Section 657 of the Civil Code (BGB)). He did not provide proof of the non-existence of Bielefeld within the meaning of the conditions of participation.
Now, in addition to the five-figure court fees, the plaintiff also has to pay Marketing GmbH’s legal fees – almost 8,500 euros had already accrued before the court case.
xp/dpa/LTO editorial team
Citation suggestion
Competition on the “Bielefeld Conspiracy”: Regional court dismisses million-dollar lawsuit . In: Legal Tribune Online, February 23, 2024, (accessed on: February 24, 2024)
Copy information about the citation suggestion
2024-02-24 10:27:06
#Bielefeld #conspiracy #dismisses #lawsuit #worth #millions
