Initiative from within TU Braunschweig – statements on BZ reporting

222 members of TU Braunschweig, including 103 TU professors, signed a statement within 24 hours as part of a grassroots initiative. In it, they oppose the reporting in the Braunschweiger Zeitung on 20 November, which they believe paints a distorted and highly negative picture of the university and its management and is based on anonymous allegations. Anyone who would like to add their name in support of the statement can contact the Press and Communications Office. The Senate, as the TU’s highest governing body, has also issued a critical statement on the BZ article.

Statement

The article in the Braunschweiger Zeitung (BZ) newspaper on 20 November 2025 paints a distorted and negative picture of TU Braunschweig – a picture that does not do justice to our academic achievements, the people at this university or its management. It ignores the outstanding and award-winning importance of our university for the region and far beyond.

The BZ published an article based largely on anonymous sources, unsubstantiated allegations and speculative conclusions. Such portrayals are likely to cause great harm, fuel mistrust and deepen social divisions.

We, as members of TU Braunschweig, expressly distance ourselves from this form of reporting and the anonymous accusations made therein.

Destructive reporting & personalised campaigns jeopardise future work at TU

Universities are places of public trust. They are places of research, teaching and debate – in the service of society. They must not become the scene of destructive reporting or personalised campaigns. In times of global challenges, those who write about conflicts instead of seeking constructive solutions jeopardise the very future work that is being done at universities.

Academic freedom is a fundamental right

Article 5 of our constitution guarantees freedom of research and teaching. This freedom protects the pursuit of knowledge from political interests, personal attacks and ideological influence. We observe with concern that university administrators – especially those who are committed to diversity and social participation beyond academia – are increasingly becoming the target of politically motivated campaigns. We firmly reject such strategies.

Excellence in a pluralistic society

The article suggests that the TU has squandered its chances of excellence because the university management prioritises issues such as diversity. This assertion is false. Diversity is not contrary to scientific excellence – it is one of its prerequisites. This also applies to research at TU Braunschweig. The German Research Foundation (DFG), initiator and funder of the clusters of excellence, explicitly names diversity as a decision-making criterion for good reason. Scientific quality arises where people with different perspectives conduct research together. A pluralistic university strengthens research and development – and thus, in the long term, the country and society as well.

Criticism needs transparency, not anonymity

Criticism is not only legitimate, it is constitutive of academic culture. But it must be transparent, verifiable and open to dialogue. Anonymous accusations from the sidelines do not provide clarification – they cause hurt and damage the university. Those who act responsibly come out of hiding and engage in dialogue.

Journalism bears responsibility

Freedom of the media is essential for a democratic society. But freedom also means responsibility. Journalists must be allowed to voice harsh criticism, provided it is transparently substantiated. However, boundaries are crossed when university leaders are disparaged and academic freedom is attacked.

We were particularly irritated by the original title of the article: “Is there a threat of ‘civil war’ at TU Braunschweig?”, which was later withdrawn. In times of real war, such language is not only factually incorrect, but also disrespectful to people who have actually experienced the murder of their closest relatives in civil wars in Sudan, the former Yugoslavia or Syria. Polarisation is not a journalistic stylistic device, but a danger.

TU Braunschweig shapes topics of the future

Our university works on topics that are crucial for the future: energy transition, mobility, health, quantum research, microelectronics and digitalisation. This work requires stability, trust and a climate of pluralistic voices – no camp thinking, no personal attacks and no attempts to drag science into proxy conflicts.

Universities thrive on the clash of ideas. They are places where different perspectives and positions come together. But they do not hide behind anonymity; rather, they seek sustainable solutions in thoroughly controversial discourses.

As members of TU Braunschweig, we stand for social responsibility, for the values of a liberal democracy, and for constructive cooperation. We jointly and resolutely oppose any reporting that contradicts these values.

Signatory professors

The names of the other TU members are not listed for data protection reasons.

Prof. Dr. Jochen Aberle, Prof. Dr. Knut Baumann, Prof. Dr. Cord-Friedrich Berghahn, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Henriette Bertram, Prof. Dr. Helga Blocksdorf, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Blum, Prof. Dr. Uwe Brederlau, Prof. Dr. Wolfram Brenig, Prof. Dr. Melanie Brinkmann, Prof. Dr. Markus Böl, Prof. Dr. Alexander Büssing, Prof. Dr. Vanessa Carlow, Prof. Dr. Iordania Constantinou, Prof. Dr. Klaus Dilger, Prof. Dr. Oleksandr Dobrovolskiy, Prof. Dr. Peter Düking, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Durner (ret.), Prof. Dr. Frank Eggert, Prof. Dr. Peter Eilts, Prof. Elisabeth Endres, Prof. Dr. Bernd Engel, Prof. Dr. Heike Faßbender, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Fauerbach, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Federica Ferraro, Prof. Dr. André Fleißner, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Friedrich, Prof. Dr. Jens Friedrichs, Prof. Dr. Georg Garnweitner, Prof. Dr. Martin Geier, Prof. Dr. Julia Gerick, Prof. Dr. Markus Gerke, Prof. Dr. Nils Goseberg, Prof. Dr. Andrés Gómez, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hartz, Prof. Dr. Mathias Hattermann, Prof. Dr Peter Hecker, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Michael Heere, Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Heinze, Prof. Dr. Markus Henke, Prof. Dr. Christoph Herrmann, Prof. Dr. Andreas Hettiger, Prof. Dr. Merle Hinrichsen, Prof. Dr. Holger Hopp, Prof. Dr. Robert Hänsch, Prof. Dr. Christoph R. Jacob, Prof. Dr. Eduard Jorswieck, Prof. Dr. Ralf Jänicke, Prof. Dr. Nicole C. Karafyllis, Prof. Dr. Simone Kauffeld, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Kellermann, Prof. Gabriel G. Kiefer, Prof. Dr. Christian Kirches, Prof. Dr. Harald Kloft, Prof. Folke Köbberling, Prof. Dr. Katja Koch, Prof. Dr. Ursula Kowalsky, Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafczyk, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kroker, Prof. Dr. Michael Kurrat, Prof. Dr. Thomas Kämpfe, Prof. Dr. Reinhard Köster, Prof. Dr. Thomas Kürner, Prof. Dr. Arno Kwade, Prof. Dr. Astrid Lampert, Prof. Dr. Theo Lange, Prof. Dr. Sabine Christine Langer, Prof. Dr. Regine Mallwitz, Prof. Dr. Jochen Meier, Prof. Fahim Mohammadi, Prof. Dr. Martin Neef, Prof. Dr. Erwin Peiner, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Pilarczyk, Prof. Dr. J. Daniel Prades, Prof. Dr. Gabriele Raabe, Prof. a.D. Dr. Dr. e.H. Rolf Radespiel, Prof. Dr. Patrik Recher, Prof. Dr. Susanne Robra-Bissantz, Prof. Dr. Jan Röhnert, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Römer, Prof. Dr. Anett Schallmey, Prof. Dr. Dr. Claus-Artur Scheier, Prof. Dr. Carsten Schilde, Prof. Dr. Uta Schlickum, Prof. Dr. Tatjana Schneider, Prof. Dr. Daniel Schröder, Prof. Dr. Kai Schröter, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Sarah K. Schäfer, Prof. Dr. Esther Serwe-Pandrick, Jun. Prof. Dr. Simona Silvestri, Prof. Dr. Thomas S. Spengler, Prof. Dr. Ingo Staack, Prof. Dr. Jan Standke, Prof. Dr. Michael Steinert, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Stiller, Prof. Dr. Stefan Süllow, Prof. Dr. Farsane Tabataba-Vakili, Prof. Dr. Klaus Thiele, Prof. Dr. Barbara Thies, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen (university council member), Prof. Dr. Stefanie Tschierlei, Prof. Dr. Svenja Vieluf, Prof. Dr. Thomas Vietor, Prof. Dr. Oliver Völkerink, Prof. Dr. Eckart Voigts, Prof. Katrin Vorhölter, Prof. Dr. Tobias Voß, Prof. Dr. Andreas Waag, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Weber, Prof. Dr. Stephan Weber, Prof. Dr. David M. Woisetschläger, Prof. Dr. Sabrina Zellmer, Prof. Dr. Okka Zimmermann