Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg denies using newspaper articles without
crediting them in his PhD thesis
Helen Pidd in Berlin
Thursday February 17 2011
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/16/german-defence-minister-plagiarism-accusation
One of Germany's most popular politicians has been accused of "brazen"
plagiarism in his PhD thesis.
The aristocratic defence minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg,
allegedly borrowed chunks from newspaper articles without crediting
them in his thesis, which compared constitutional development in the
US and EU.
Often touted as a future chancellor, Zu Guttenberg, 39, only finished
his PhD in 2006, when he was already an MP. In the preface to the
work, which received top marks, he admits it was difficult for him to
find the time to complete it because of his political commitments.
Zu Guttenberg has had a rotten run in recent weeks, first criticised
for his handling of a friendly fire shooting within the German army
and then the death of a young cadet aboard a navy training ship
[http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/50017/" title="].
Now the ombudsman at the University of Bayreuth, his alma mater, is
investigating allegations of plagiarism made against Zu Guttenberg by
a law professor. Andreas Fischer-Lescano from Bremen University
discovered the parallels with other texts during what has been
described as a "routine examination".
Fischer-Lescano says he has discovered a number of instances of "a
brazen plagiarism" and "deception" in Zu Guttenberg's work. "The
duplication appears throughout the work and in all its substantive
parts," he said.
The S?ddeutsche Zeitung newspaper created an interactive graphic
allowing readers to compare and contrast Zu Guttenberg's thesis and
the articles he is alleged to have plagiarised from a Swiss newspaper
and a number of other academics (http://www.sueddeutsche.de/app/
subchannel/politik/guttenberg/ [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/app/
subchannel/politik/guttenberg/" title="]).
Zu Guttenberg told the S?ddeutsche Zeitung that the university
ombudsman was the right person to investigate the claims, which he
insists are false. "I did the work in good faith with my own
knowledge," he said.
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011
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