Spiegel affair
1962 political scandal in West Germany / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Spiegel affair?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Spiegel affair of 1962 (German: Spiegel-Affäre) was a political scandal in West Germany.[1] It stemmed from the publication of an article in Der Spiegel, West Germany's weekly political magazine, about the nation's defense forces.[2] Several Spiegel staffers were detained on charges of treason, but were ultimately released without trial.
The scandal stemmed from a conflict between Franz Josef Strauss, federal minister of defense, and Rudolf Augstein, owner and editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel. The affair cost Strauss his office and, according to some commentators, put the post-war West German democracy to its first successful test of press freedom.[3][4]