July 23, 2003: Survey Finds Fifth of Germans Believe US Government Behind 9/11

The German weekly newspaper Die Zeit publishes a survey by the respected organization Forsa which finds that 19 percent of Germans believe the US government, or elements within it, were behind the 9/11 attacks. 31 percent of those under 30 are found to believe this. [Reuters, 7/23/2003; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt), 9/9/2003; Daily Telegraph, 11/20/2003] Several popular books are on the market in Germany, questioning who was behind 9/11. [Wall Street Journal, 9/29/2003; International Herald Tribune, 10/1/2003] In response, the newsmagazine Der Spiegel runs a major cover story rebutting some of the theories proposed in these books. [Der Spiegel (Hamburg), 9/8/2003] A senior German government official dismisses the poll result, saying:“There’s a group of people in every country who will believe any nonsense.” [International Herald Tribune, 10/1/2003] In June 2005, a popular German crime show on German state television (ARD) will air an episode involving the premise that the Bush administration ordered the 9/11 attacks. [Washington Times, 6/9/2005]