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| Charlie Hebdo, a Lightning Rod in France, Hits German Newsstands | Charlie Hebdo, a Lightning Rod in France, Hits German Newsstands |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| BERLIN — The first German edition of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo arrived on newsstands Thursday, nearly two years after an attack on the publication’s headquarters in Paris killed top editors and contributors. The edition is a response to significant German interest in Charlie Hebdo after the attack, editors said this week. | BERLIN — The first German edition of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo arrived on newsstands Thursday, nearly two years after an attack on the publication’s headquarters in Paris killed top editors and contributors. The edition is a response to significant German interest in Charlie Hebdo after the attack, editors said this week. |
| “It’s an experiment,” Gérard Biard, Charlie Hebdo’s editor in chief, said on Wednesday. “It’s an answer to this particular interest, which is not only about what happened and freedom of expression but also about ideas.” | “It’s an experiment,” Gérard Biard, Charlie Hebdo’s editor in chief, said on Wednesday. “It’s an answer to this particular interest, which is not only about what happened and freedom of expression but also about ideas.” |
| Mr. Biard said the paper had been the subject of numerous exhibitions, awards and news coverage in Germany since the attack on Jan. 7, 2015, in which two brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, stormed the offices in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris with assault rifles, leaving 12 dead. | Mr. Biard said the paper had been the subject of numerous exhibitions, awards and news coverage in Germany since the attack on Jan. 7, 2015, in which two brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, stormed the offices in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris with assault rifles, leaving 12 dead. |
| With an initial print run of 200,000, the new edition will be available across Germany every Thursday. It will consist mostly of translated material from the French version, but with some original content for its German readers. | With an initial print run of 200,000, the new edition will be available across Germany every Thursday. It will consist mostly of translated material from the French version, but with some original content for its German readers. |
| The first cover depicts a worn-out-looking Chancellor Angela Merkel lying on a hydraulic lift, with a caption saying that the embattled German carmaker Volkswagen “stands behind Merkel” and that “with a new exhaust pipe, she’ll be good to go for another four years.” | The first cover depicts a worn-out-looking Chancellor Angela Merkel lying on a hydraulic lift, with a caption saying that the embattled German carmaker Volkswagen “stands behind Merkel” and that “with a new exhaust pipe, she’ll be good to go for another four years.” |
| Charlie Hebdo has been a lightning rod in the debate over balancing free speech and religious and cultural sensibilities. The newspaper was targeted by jihadists after it published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, but it also regularly takes aim at the Vatican and the European political establishment. | Charlie Hebdo has been a lightning rod in the debate over balancing free speech and religious and cultural sensibilities. The newspaper was targeted by jihadists after it published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, but it also regularly takes aim at the Vatican and the European political establishment. |
| Detractors have accused Charlie Hebdo of heedlessly printing incendiary and racist imagery, while supporters see it as a symbol of free expression and Western liberal values. | Detractors have accused Charlie Hebdo of heedlessly printing incendiary and racist imagery, while supporters see it as a symbol of free expression and Western liberal values. |
| The newspaper’s “Survivors” edition, published a week after the attack on its offices and once again depicting Muhammad, sold 70,000 copies in Germany, editors said. | The newspaper’s “Survivors” edition, published a week after the attack on its offices and once again depicting Muhammad, sold 70,000 copies in Germany, editors said. |
| The editor of the German edition, who uses the pseudonym Minka Schneider, said, “Germans feel particularly close to France and to Charlie Hebdo, and the debate about freedom of expression is very passionate here compared to other countries.” | The editor of the German edition, who uses the pseudonym Minka Schneider, said, “Germans feel particularly close to France and to Charlie Hebdo, and the debate about freedom of expression is very passionate here compared to other countries.” |
| Ms. Schneider, 33, who supervises a staff of 12, mostly translators in the Paris office, said that security was not the primary reason for concealing her real name. “It’s really because I just want to focus on the journal, rather than fielding emails,” she said. | Ms. Schneider, 33, who supervises a staff of 12, mostly translators in the Paris office, said that security was not the primary reason for concealing her real name. “It’s really because I just want to focus on the journal, rather than fielding emails,” she said. |
| The first German issue, with 16 pages, features a four-page travel feature by the cartoonist Laurent Sourisseau, who uses the pen name Riss, depicting people he met across Germany and their thoughts on cultural heritage, national identity and the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, most of them Muslims, in the last several years. | The first German issue, with 16 pages, features a four-page travel feature by the cartoonist Laurent Sourisseau, who uses the pen name Riss, depicting people he met across Germany and their thoughts on cultural heritage, national identity and the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, most of them Muslims, in the last several years. |
| The reaction in the German news media has largely been positive, with a few exceptions. Martin Sonneborn, a prominent satirist, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that Charlie Hebdo was “living off the attacks.” | The reaction in the German news media has largely been positive, with a few exceptions. Martin Sonneborn, a prominent satirist, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that Charlie Hebdo was “living off the attacks.” |
| “I don’t believe that magazine will go over well in Germany,” added Mr. Sonneborn, a former editor of Titanic, a satirical magazine, “because it has such a specifically French aspect and represents a very unique type of humor.” | “I don’t believe that magazine will go over well in Germany,” added Mr. Sonneborn, a former editor of Titanic, a satirical magazine, “because it has such a specifically French aspect and represents a very unique type of humor.” |
| Charlie Hebdo’s brand of satire tends to be harsher and darker than German counterparts like Titanic and Eulenspiegel. The editors acknowledge the challenge of appealing to a German audience but said the timing of the new edition was opportune. | Charlie Hebdo’s brand of satire tends to be harsher and darker than German counterparts like Titanic and Eulenspiegel. The editors acknowledge the challenge of appealing to a German audience but said the timing of the new edition was opportune. |
| “Germany is facing problems today that France already faced a few decades ago, like immigration and the banlieues,” Ms. Schneider said, referring to the heavily immigrant neighborhoods that ring many French cities. “So maybe learning something about French society can help the Germans, and humor is a good way to do this.” | “Germany is facing problems today that France already faced a few decades ago, like immigration and the banlieues,” Ms. Schneider said, referring to the heavily immigrant neighborhoods that ring many French cities. “So maybe learning something about French society can help the Germans, and humor is a good way to do this.” |
| If Charlie Hebdo is less concerned about causing offense than are most German publications, that may be a good thing, Mr. Biard suggested. | If Charlie Hebdo is less concerned about causing offense than are most German publications, that may be a good thing, Mr. Biard suggested. |
| “In Germany, you hear about the Lügenpresse a lot,” he said, referring to a Nazi-era word meaning “lying press” that has been taken up in recent years by far-right protesters accusing the mainstream German news media of dishonesty. “I think no one can say to Charlie Hebdo that we’re all politically correct. We don’t think, ‘Oh you cannot say this in Germany, you cannot do this.’ ” | “In Germany, you hear about the Lügenpresse a lot,” he said, referring to a Nazi-era word meaning “lying press” that has been taken up in recent years by far-right protesters accusing the mainstream German news media of dishonesty. “I think no one can say to Charlie Hebdo that we’re all politically correct. We don’t think, ‘Oh you cannot say this in Germany, you cannot do this.’ ” |
| “Everybody can be a subject in Charlie Hebdo,” Mr. Biard continued. “So we feel pretty free to have a look at German society.” | “Everybody can be a subject in Charlie Hebdo,” Mr. Biard continued. “So we feel pretty free to have a look at German society.” |