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Is Tom Cruise the Goebbels of Scientology?

Posted by Adam Howard at 1:30 PM on July 24, 2007.


Adam Howard: Germans aren't very happy about a new film in which Cruise will play Hitler's would-be assassin.
Cruise Compared to Goebbels

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Tom Cruise just can’t catch a break any more.

MSNBC reports:

The war of words over Tom Cruise’s next film is heating up, with a leading church in Germany comparing the Top Gun star to a notorious Nazi.
The German Protestant Church has compared Cruise to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and that he is using his fame to publicize his faith, the sometimes controversial Church of Scientology.
Thomas Gandow, chief spokesman on religious cults for the German Protestant Church, called Scientology a “totalitarian organization” and alleged that Cruise was “the Goebbels of Scientology,” according to various overseas reports, including the London Independent.
Cruise’s camp is slamming his comments as “irresponsible” and “wrongheaded.” Scientology is recognized as a religion in the U.S., but is under scrutiny in some other countries. Tom Cruise has been granted permission to shoot his next film, ‘Valkyrie’ — about an assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler — in Germany, but the project is still stirring up heated reactions.

“This film will have the same propaganda advantages for Scientology as the 1936 Olympics had for the Nazis,” Gandow said, referring to the publicity the 1936 Berlin Games gave Germany.
The video to your right is a clip from a recent episode of Keith Olbermann’s Countdown which explores the controversy.

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Tagged as: film, hitler, germany, world war ii, scientology, cruise

Adam Howard is the editor of PEEK.


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Why Pick on Scientology???
Posted by: CatDad on Jul 24, 2007 2:20 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
.....which is at most a marginal cult/scam...yet gets way more publicity than under normal circumstances because it has a few A-List celebs (Cruise/Travolta) among its members. Also, the church has been engaged in high-profile battles with the big pharma industry...which are huge industries in the USA and Germany...this later fact may account for its being singled out in Germany.

This is the second time Scientology has been singed-out in Alternet. Here' my issue: for whatever suffering this tiny cult has brought unto the world, it has been eclipsed by a factor of 100 trillion by the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church and fundamentalists sects of the big three religions. Try picking on some of those instead...this is where the real problems lie.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Why Pick on Scientology??? Posted by: montana freeman
Tolerance
Posted by: ccluelessfl60 on Jul 25, 2007 8:06 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Tom Cruise is an actor and all the world is a stage. The Germans need to take a chill pill .He is not moving in and if everyone who had a goofy side were kept out of Germany then the tourist industry would collaspe. Tom can act when he feels like it ,so let him do his best and maybe he will help redeem the German soul as seen by some. We tolerate our goofy ones here in America.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Tolerance means never having to . . . Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» tolerate me or else! Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» RE: Tolerance Posted by: CatDad